Thomas Tuchel does not intend to overhaul his defence, even though England have failed to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive matches ahead of Tuesday’s Nations League meeting with Czechia.
Tuchel admitted his team created problems for themselves during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat by Spain, but he continued to support Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly following their mistakes against the world champions.
Continuity remained the main theme as England travelled to Prague for their second fixture in Nations League Group A3. O’Reilly and Ezri Konsa are injury doubts, although Tuchel is expected to make only limited defensive changes. James Trafford will remain in goal, with the head coach attributing the Spain loss to isolated errors rather than flaws in England’s defensive system.
“I did not notice a recurring problem,” Tuchel said. “The goals came from individual errors rather than the way we defended as a team. When we were organised in our shape, I thought our defending was strong. There were costly personal mistakes, but nothing about the overall defensive structure worried me.
“From a defensive perspective, we looked more disciplined, connected and organised than we did in several World Cup matches. That represented progress. We regularly moved forward from our middle block, attempted to press into the opposition half and stepped out effectively when defending deeper. We were not placed under sustained pressure for long spells and maintained our shape throughout.
“I am not going to make changes simply because a player committed an individual error, especially when those players have performed well for us in previous games.”
Two of Spain’s goals followed Guéhi and O’Reilly surrendering possession in dangerous areas. “We must get better in those situations, because our mistakes near the penalty area made us our own biggest threat when we had the ball,” Tuchel said. “As far as our defensive organisation is concerned, I am not worried.”
Lewis Hall could take O’Reilly’s place at left-back against Czechia. If Konsa is unavailable, Trevoh Chalobah will compete with Jarrad Branthwaite for the opportunity to partner Guéhi in central defence. England are aiming to qualify for next year’s finals, and their defeat by Spain leaves little room for experimentation against a Czech side that lost its opening match to Croatia.
Another major selection decision is whether Trent Alexander-Arnold will replace Jarell Quansah at right-back and make his first international appearance since June 2025. Alexander-Arnold missed the World Cup and remained on the bench throughout the Spain game.
“He trained extremely well throughout the week and produced an outstanding session at Wembley after the game, showing how determined he is to play and contribute to the squad,” Tuchel said. “He also trained well today, there are no problems and he is available.”
Tuchel said Trafford is starting England’s opening two Nations League fixtures so the coaching staff can assess whether the Leeds goalkeeper is ready to perform at this standard. Jordan Pickford, England’s first choice since 2018, is expected to return for Saturday’s visit to Croatia and next Tuesday’s home match against Czechia.
“We are using the Nations League to evaluate our other goalkeepers,” Tuchel said. “Jordan’s performances gave us no reason to suggest that his position was under threat.
“However, we need alternatives in every position and must be prepared for different circumstances. Trafford began the season strongly with Leeds, so he deserves an opportunity to show that he can perform within our system. We needed to assess him in competitive matches, and this tournament gives him the chance to demonstrate his ability and continue developing.”
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
