Jack Grealish must start for England at World Cup as Thomas Tuchel given two XIs if everyone is fit

Thomas Tuchel has plenty of thinking to do, but there’s also a number of pundits who are happy to do it for him.

The England manager got off to a torrid start in his first international job, with his second run of fixtures seeing a narrow 1-0 win over Andorra and a 3-1 thumping from Senegal.

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It’s now just nine months until the 2026 World Cup in the Americas, and with the sole aim being winning the tournament, the German coach needs to get things right soon.

Thankfully for him, he has numerous world-class players at his disposal, and the toughest task may just be working out how to get them in the same team.

In fact, so stand-out are many of the key men that talkSPORT Drive hosts Darren Bent and Andy Goldstein came up with near-identical XIs to take on the world.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t any debate, though, with plenty of questions remaining after the pair named their squads if the World Cup were to start tomorrow.

Darren Bent’s 4-3-3

“Jordan Pickford in goal, there have been some good England goalkeepers and Dean Henderson is knocking on the door, but I think 76 caps later he’s still England’s most consistent. I get that Henderson’s been incredible, but Pickford has never let England down.

“Reece James at right back, I really like him as an all-round package. I know Trent Alexander-Arnold’s range of passing is better but I think James technically is as good as they come.

“Left back Miles Lewis-Skelly, what he’s done for England in such a short space of time, he’s been incredible and scored his first goal already.

“At centre-half I’ve gone for John Stones, he’s been consistent for England, and the man who I think is England’s best centre half – Marc Guehi.

“I’m not going for a double pivot, I’m going for a 4-3-3. I know Declan Rice is better as an eight, but for the purpose of this team he’s got to do the job as a holder.

“The two guys ahead of him are Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer. Jude can do a little bit of both where he can get back and make things happen.

“On the right I’ve got Bukayo Saka, whenever he puts on an England shirt he does well. Harry Kane as the captain down the middle, and down the left hand side I’ve gone for Jack Grealish – he looks like a man on a mission.”

Andy Goldstein’s 4-1-4-1

“I’ve got Pickford in goal as well, at right-back I’ve got Trent Alexander-Arnold, I just think if you’ve got a player anywhere on the pitch that can win a game with one pass at any moment, I think they have to be part of the starting line-up. I’m sacrificing the defensive side of the team for the attacking.

“Guehi and Stones, they’re the best two centre-halves and I think Guehi is England’s best defender at the moment.

“I’ve gone for Luke Shaw on the left, when he’s fit there is not a better left back in the country and we’ve seen that in major tournaments, like when he scored in the Euros final.

“It’s a 4-1-4-1 with Rice sitting in front of the back four and on the right I’ve gone for Saka, then Bellingham and Palmer, and on the left Grealish with Harry Kane down the middle.

“Our attacking options, both full-backs like to bomb on and both can score, while Trent’s range of passing is ridiculous, Grealish gives that extra bit of something and Bellingham and Palmer have to be in there.

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“When Saka puts on an England shirt he’s without a doubt one of our best players and Harry Kane is a no brainer – one of the best players on the planet.”

Proven or passing at left-back?

Bent defended his pick of Lewis-Skelly over Shaw, saying: “In terms of going into the middle of the pitch and playing, he’s better with his feet, naturally he’s a midfield player. 

“For such a young kid in an England shirt he’s looked really, really good.”

Trent vs James

In a tale as old as time the debate at right-back has been sparked again, even with Tuchel leaving Real Madrid’s Alexander-Arnold out of his latest squad.

Naming James instead, Bent said: “He’s won everything. Trent’s a better passer, but it’s not like it’s night and day, Reece James’ range of passing is beautiful.”

Rice’s role

While both pundits acknowledged Rice being better in an attacking midfield role, needs must with the talent England have in the middle of the park.

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“I don’t want to put him there but I need Jude, Palmer and Saka to play,” Bent explained.

Goldstein added: “I think those three are up there with the best we’ve ever had, as a three that work collectively in those positions.”

The missing man?

Continuing the Rice debate, there’s one player who just missed out in the holding role.

“I think for more balance a lot of people would go for Adam Wharton because he’s going to be a wow player, but you’d have to lose Palmer,” Bent said.

“Once you see how good he is for Palace week in week out and he can get over his injuries I think he’ll be the holder with Declan as an eight and Bellingham as a ten and Palmer has to miss out.”

Key squad spot still undecided

Tuchel called up Ivan Toney as his Kane back-up in the previous round of fixtures and caused some controversy with the former Brentford man playing out in Saudi Arabia.

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He’s now gone for Ollie Watkins with Marcus Rashford and Jarrod Bowen also options, but who lands the spot if Kane gets injured is anyone’s guess.

“I’ve got no idea,” Bent said of who should back up Kane. “We’ve got Watkins, Dominic Solanke, and we don’t know what Rashford is going to show up…”

England vs Andorra is live on talkSPORT at 5pm on 6 September and fans can catch it through talksport.com or on the talkSPORT App. Alternatively there will be dedicated live blog.