The unintended effect from Reece James’ injury that can boost England’s World Cup hopes | OneFootball

In all of the insider gushing about Thomas Tuchel’s preparations for this World Cup, one of the most common descriptions has been “meticulous”… which makes it all the more incredible that England now have a glaring hole in the team. From no stone being left unturned to having a rock thrown in.

Reece James is injured, and that has a huge knock-on effect beyond the fact he is the only natural right-back in the team.

Anyone can say - and many did say - this could have been foreseen, but actually experiencing the reality of it really puts things into sharp perspective.

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Thomas Tuchel must find a creative solution to Reece James’ injury after failing to select enough conventional cover (PA Wire)

Being able to get by suddenly becomes trying to get out of a hole.

This is obviously far from a crisis, given that England are playing a game against Panama to top the group, but Tuchel does suddenly have a few selection decisions.

It is not just about having to use a makeshift right-back when that had recently been one of the most abundant position types in the team, where James is the most injury-prone.

It is also that Tuchel was actually afforded the chance to rectify this.

When Tino Livramento succumbing to injury worries of his own, the England manager had the chance to call up another right-back. He instead went with a further centre-half in Trevoh Chalobah, who appeared to be belated cover for yet another fitness concern in John Stones. Chalobah even conceded his primary role would be as a right-sided centre-back.

You can suddenly see the problems unnecessarily mounting. And they go beyond defence.

Another theme of England’s tournament has been Declan Rice’s own predictable fitness issues, when the midfielder had looked the one irreplaceable player outside Harry Kane. You can now add James to that, but with the added concern that the Chelsea right-back had been seen as a potential alternative to Rice.

Not now. Tuchel insisted James can still play a part in this World Cup, but hamstrings issues like this don’t usually lend themselves to this confidence, or use.

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Reece James will miss England’s final Group L game against Panama (PA Wire)

There’s then the cumulative effect of all of this, and a squad that could now be stretched in certain areas.

Wednesday’s laboured 0-0 with Ghana marked the beginning of an intense period of fixtures, particularly with prospective fixtures in the altitude of Mexico City and then the punishing humidity of Miami.

That is going to demand bodies, with England undermanned in key areas.

Does Tuchel now regret not bringing Trent Alexander-Arnold?

Like so much with this growing issue, there’d be a double effect.

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Tuchel resisted the chance to belatedly call up Alexander-Arnold (Getty)

Alexander-Arnold wouldn’t just be an alternative right-back. He could have been an impact sub to supply the kind of perceptive ball that England badly needed against Ghana.

One reason that Tuchel didn’t pick him is because, like with Gareth Southgate, Alexander-Arnold doesn’t fully fit his concept of a right-back.

The German has been conscious of games like the 2022 Champions League final, where the defender’s impetus allowed Vinicius Junior in for the key goal. England of course may well have to counter exactly that against Brazil for that potential quarter-final in Miami.

There’s been a concern about how you make one slip like that and you’re out of the World Cup.

But should that worry, about one potential moment, override all of the requirements for the hundreds of minutes before such a hypothetical?

As with so much in this squad construction, it feels like it could represent an excessive focus on some qualities at the expense of others.

So it could be with the concentration on mood over personnel, on building everything around Kane over offering a few different options.

And now, the abundance in some positions and glaring gaps in others.

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James was seen as a potential replacement for Rice in midfield (Reuters)

It isn’t difficult to imagine a world involving a tournament post-mortem where this is the moment seen as when everything started to unravel.

Alternatively, adversity might bring the squad together. Maybe it had been going a little too well for England, amid all the talk of a good mood in the squad.

Sometimes you need tension.

England now have more than anticipated, especially for a group match against Panama.

Like with Reece’s injury, though, it’s about so much more than that.

Tuchel can’t quite be called meticulous any more, at least in squad building. He has so far created an unnecessary risk, and an unnecessary problem.

He now needs to be creative, and pragmatic, and the squad need more resolve.

When the manager was asked before the Croatia game about certain decisions, he laughed that he had no tournament experience.

Tuchel is now discovering the kind of problems they really involve.