England manager Thomas Tuchel has faced sharp criticism over his decision to bring injury-prone Chelsea defender Reece James to the World Cup without sufficient cover, a move described as 'ridiculous' by former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas.
James injury leaves England short at right-back
James started England's first two group matches but has not featured since due to a hamstring injury. He missed the final training session ahead of the last-16 tie against Mexico, casting doubt on his availability for the quarter-finals should England progress. The Football Association confirmed James is following an individual programme away from the squad.
With no specialist right-back replacement in the squad, Djed Spence is expected to start against Mexico. Tuchel notably omitted Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold and saw long-term right-back Kyle Walker retire from international duty before the tournament. The lack of options forced Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice to fill in at right-back in the latter stages of the round-of-32 win over DR Congo.
Jenas: 'Taking James with no backup is ridiculous'
Speaking to 10bet, Jenas questioned Tuchel's squad selection. 'I don't think he even needed that. I think taking Reece James to a major tournament with no real backup is just ridiculous,' Jenas said. 'I love Reece James, I think everybody loves Reece James as a footballer, but taking him on the basis of, “Well, I’ve got Djed Spence that can fill in there” – I mean…'
Jenas was particularly critical of Alexander-Arnold's exclusion. 'I will never, ever listen to anybody that tells me Trent Alexander-Arnold should not be at this World Cup. He is easily one of our 26 best players. And when you look at our lack of creativity in these games at times, we’ve kind of been a bit one-trick-pony-ish. And Trent’s not that. If teams sit in and you have somebody like Trent on the ball, you have to get to him because he’s just going to keep doing what he does from the halfway line if he has to.'
Jenas added that Tuchel's approach is a gamble. 'In his mind, he’s, “If I don’t win, I don’t care if I get sacked because that’s my objective.” He’s not an England manager that’s looking for longevity. He’s coming in and going, “I’m going to do it my way, and if I get sacked after Mexico, I get sacked, but I gave it a go.” That’s what his mentality is.'
Desailly echoes concerns over right-back options
French World Cup winner Marcel Desailly provided a similar assessment to Sportscasting. 'I am a little bit surprised on the right side of the defence, and the limited options England have,' the former Chelsea defender said. 'Reece James… we know he’s going to get injured. You have the statistics, you know it. Okay, he can play in midfield to help a little bit, so that’s an option, which is great. If you put him at right back, on his day, there isn’t a better one because he’s so intelligent, but his physicality has always been a major worry.'
Desailly also questioned the omission of Alexander-Arnold. 'Meanwhile, Tuchel decides to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold out, a guy that has unbelievable ability with the ball. His free-kicks and deliveries are key. Instead of asking Bellingham to run all over the park, England had a technical weapon in Alexander-Arnold, and he’s not even in the squad. Okay, Foden, okay, Palmer – we understand why both of those players aren’t there, and you also have options to replace them. But on the right side… James cannot project himself like he did before. He has not yet recovered 100% from his injury, but he’s a guarantee for the team in terms of identifying the momentum to go forward. So it is what it is.'
Desaille noted that England had to deploy Spence, normally a left-back, on the right. 'So for me, the decision not to take Alexander-Arnold looks really strange when you see the limited options available to Tuchel in the absence of James. I think it is a decision from Tuchel to remove Alexander-Arnold because he’s a leader, and Tuchel wants to create a different dynamic in the group. We understand. But for James, you knew out of the six matches you were supposed to play, when you look at the stats, you knew that he was going to be unavailable for a couple of matches because of his physical problems.'
England's World Cup campaign so far
England topped Group L with two wins and a draw before a late comeback against DR Congo in the round-of-32. Mexico, co-hosts and yet to concede a goal, topped Group A with a perfect record before beating Ecuador in the round-of-32. The last-16 clash against Mexico will determine whether England can progress despite the right-back crisis.
