England: John Barnes claims Three Lions only have two ‘definite starters’ for World Cup | OneFootball

John Barnes has claimed that England only have two “definite starters” for the World Cup as he has ignored two key Arsenal players.

England have just had their final international break of 2025, so their squad is taking shape ahead of next summer’s World Cup.

The Three Lions had a perfect record in their World Cup qualifying group as they win all six of their matches to easily qualify for the tournament.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel has now had a few international breaks to get used to working with his players and it has become clear that he has some favourites ahead of the World Cup.

This includes Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, while Jude Bellingham re-established himself as a starter during this international break.

However, former England international Barnes has ignored Saka, Rice and Co. and has claimed that Kane and Bellingham are Tuchel’s only “definite starters”.

“There aren’t any players barring Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham that can say they are definite starters for England at this moment in time,” Barnes told Video Gamer.

“As we saw when we last played where a lot of the superstars were missing, I think England played some of their best football since Thomas Tuchel took over as manager.

“The question is then whether you leave out players like Morgan Rogers, who has performed brilliantly for Tuchel, in order to bring back in players like Phil Foden?

“It’s about fitting the system rather than how well you are doing for your club, and I think that’s the right way to be.”

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Former Premier League striker Darren Bent, meanwhile, thinks Tuchel is in an “impossible” situation as Chelsea star Cole Palmer may struggle to feature for England.

“Everyone’s saying Cole Palmer has got to get back in the squad. Right, so who should you leave out?” Bent said on talkSPORT.

“I’ve had those conversations with people. I was in there with a few ex-players, a few supporters and stuff like that. We were all talking. Everyone kept saying, “Well, Cole Palmer’s got to get back in the squad.”

“And I was like that’s fair enough but if he goes back, say you put Palmer in this squad, who’d you take out?

“It’s an impossible answer. It’s an absolutely impossible answer. So Thomas Tuchel has got a big job on his hands.”