Inevitable that one of 4 youngsters will make their England debut today in Tampa. Thomas Tuchel wasn’t giving anything away re Alex Scott. “Good question! That depends a little bit on the positions, we have three number nine's. So, it can be that Ollie Watkins plays on the wing..— Ian Dennis (@Iandennisbbc) June 6, 2026 We need to build two teams. It can be a debut for Alex if we have the right position for him, the decision is not taken yet." Scott has been training in the position of Declan Rice this week.— Ian Dennis (@Iandennisbbc) June 6, 2026
It’s interesting he says we need 2 teams. It says to me the seconds will get far more game time than others here would believe.
He seems to have said that he'll be using 2 different teams in each half. So, even if he plays Watkins on the wing, you'd think at least Scott and one of Ngumoha and Nwaneri will get 45, just down to numbers of CMs and wide players Thomas Tuchel: England manager on New Zealand friendly, pitch concerns and World Cup build-up - BBC Sport "The plan is to play 45 minutes with two complete teams, to expose everyone to the same amount of minutes. "Then we can continue for the next three days with the same load of training. That is the plan and at the moment we are sticking to it."
Thomas Tuchel backs England stars to lift Eberechi Eze and insists Arsenal’s quartet deserve to be on a high ahead of the World Cup https://t.co/UYlbLxGDOQ— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) June 6, 2026
What amazes me about that game looking back is how bad David James looks. You could place blame on him for every goal. Wild that Barry got more stick than him. Frightening spell we had with keepers at tournaments and qualifying - 2008 Euro qualifying - Robinson and Carson = Abysmal. 2010 WC - Green and James = Abysmal. 2012 Euro - Hart - Did OK but dreadful in the shootout. 2014 World Cup - Hart - OK. Can’t remember many faults. Try to forget that tournament tbh. Euro 2016 - Hart - Abysmal. To blame for nearly every goal conceded.
Playing both Kane and Watkins at the same time will be fun. Not sure about a Mainoo and Henderson midfield through. Scott and Anderson could be a better midfield in the second half. Nor sure who is replacing Watkins through.
I get it's about getting the minutes ticking over but Tuchel really does seem allergic to playing something approximating his best 11 together or even a coherent set up that matches how he will presumably want the side to play. A right side of Quansah and Watkins stands out as particularly bad. Surely the presumably first choice defence at least would benefit from playing together also.
There really is no point in playing this game. Team has zero relation to what we will attempt when it matters. The big fear is the players will know this and end up playing through the motions on a terrible pitch.
Meanwhile everyone but on here seems to be expecting we will thrash New Zealand no matter who we play. I hope we do but I can’t say I’m confident.
GK Pickford RB Quansah LB Spence CB Stones CB Guehi CM Henderson CM Mainoo CM Rogers RW Watkins LW Rashford CF Kane
I assumed Rogers was playing from the right and Kane is playing like a 10. What a shocking team though. Every Tuchel friendly is an utter shitshow.
It seems a total waste of time tbh, add this to the March friendlies and it will have been over half a year since anything resembling a first XI has been put out by us. I'm not sure how that helps and to be honest this game is a total waste of time apart from giving players minutes.
I highly doubt we will to be honest and it’s not really an issue if we don’t and shouldn’t be used as a stick to beat us with considering the circumstances. I’m expecting a training like exercise….
Ok, that side look pretty random with no purpose. Then again it is about what Tuchel said he would do. Clearly Tuchel does not want to use friendlies to practice anything. Hopefully England will get what they want out of the match. Looking back at the Uruguay match, I kind of like the purpose of playing them just to get some experience with a cheating dirty south american team, all in a secured environment with the starting 11 sitting in the stands wrapped in bubble plastic. If Kane assumes the No 10 role it would be hilarious, then again he might be very good at it ..