Thomas Tuchel has 11 days until England open their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Atlanta, and the German has narrowed his selection puzzle to three or four genuine debates. The squad’s final warm-up — a 2-0 win over Senegal at the Etihad on Saturday, with goals from Cole Palmer and Eberechi Eze — gave Tuchel his last competitive look at a side that has trained together for 19 days across two camps. Now comes the part he has spent six months building toward: picking a starting XI for a tournament opener that, on FIFA’s expanded 48-team format, England are expected to win comfortably.
Jude Bellingham trained fully on Tuesday after the calf tightness that kept him out of the Senegal match, and Tuchel confirmed at Wednesday’s St George’s Park briefing that the Real Madrid midfielder is “100 per cent” available. The question is no longer whether Bellingham starts, but where.
The Bellingham question reframes the attack
Tuchel has used Bellingham in a deeper role across qualifying, pairing him with Declan Rice in a double pivot that allowed Phil Foden to drift inside from the left. It worked: England conceded just four goals in eight qualifiers. But Bellingham’s club season under Xabi Alonso was his most productive as a number 10 — 14 goals and nine assists in La Liga — and the temptation to free him higher up the pitch has grown.
Doing so would mean dropping a forward. Harry Kane is undroppable. Foden’s form since March — six goals in his last 11 for Manchester City — makes him difficult to bench. That leaves Bukayo Saka as the squeezed name. Saka has started 23 of England’s 27 matches under Tuchel and Gareth Southgate combined since Euro 2024, but his hamstring injury in February cost him six weeks at Arsenal, and Anthony Gordon’s late-season surge for Newcastle (eight goals in his last 12) has given Tuchel a like-for-like alternative who arrives in better rhythm.
Internally, the staff have war-gamed both shapes. A 4-2-3-1 with Bellingham at 10, Foden left, Saka right and Kane through the middle is the version Tuchel has drilled most in training. A 4-3-3 with Bellingham as the left-sided eight, Rice as the six and Adam Wharton as the right-sided eight is the contingency if Croatia overload midfield.
Croatia’s threat, and what it dictates
Croatia’s midfield is older now — Luka Modric is 40, Mateo Kovacic 32 — but their pressing structure under Zlatko Dalic remains the most disciplined England will face in the group stage. They held Spain to a draw at Euro 2024 and beat Italy in March. The temptation to flood midfield is real.
That is why Wharton, the Crystal Palace 22-year-old who has started just nine times for England, is genuinely in contention. Tuchel name-checked him three times in Wednesday’s press conference, an unusual signal. If Wharton starts, Foden moves wide, Bellingham drops deeper, and Saka loses his place.
The defensive picks are clearer. Jordan Pickford in goal. Reece James at right-back ahead of Kyle Walker, who has been used as a third centre-back in training. Marc Guehi and John Stones in the middle. Luke Shaw, fit for the first tournament since Euro 2024, at left-back.
What Sunday tells us
England have not lost a World Cup group-stage opener since 1986. They have not failed to win one since drawing 1-1 with the United States in 2010. Tuchel’s record — 11 wins from 13 since taking over in January 2025 — has bought him the credit to make a bold call, but a sluggish start in Atlanta would revive every old question about whether the German truly understands the rhythm of an international tournament.
The probable XI, based on training patterns this week: Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Foden, Gordon; Kane. That leaves Saka in and Gordon ahead of him on the left, with Bellingham as the second eight rather than the 10. It is the safest version of Tuchel’s options — and the one that keeps his most-capped attacker on the pitch for a tournament that, for England, is supposed to end the 60-year wait.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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