Thomas Tuchel has been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of England's World Cup round of 16 encounter with Mexico tonight at the iconic Azteca Stadium. Sky Sports report that Djed Spence is a new fitness concern and is unlikely to feature for the Three Lions at right-back as he is carrying an injury.
Injury woes continue for England
England have endured numerous problems in the right-back position since Tino Livramento was compelled to withdraw from the squad before the tournament began. Jarrel Quansah and Reece James have also been struck down by injuries since England's World Cup campaign commenced last month. Now Spence joins them with a problem which is expected to see Declan Rice deployed out of position or the recovered Quansah selected at right-back.
Whoever gets the nod will face three-goal Mexico left winger Julian Quinones, who is crucial to the co-hosts' prospects of success. Tuchel made no reference to any concerns over Spence in his pre-match press conference yesterday, when he declared that Rice was fit and James could make a return to the bench.
Tuchel's pre-match comments
Tottenham full-back Spence trained with his team-mates beforehand, reports the Express. "Reece is maybe on the bench tomorrow, let's see," his German head coach told talkSPORT. "But everyone else is fully available." He added: "Jarell trained and is fully available. Reece can maybe make it on the bench, but we need a last assessment from the doctors and a medical opinion."
Should Rice line up at right-back, that could open the door for Jordan Henderson or Kobbie Mainoo to slot into midfield. Alternatively, Rice may continue alongside Elliot Anderson in the engine room if Quansah is restored to the starting eleven in place of Spence.
Selection headaches and expected lineup
Tuchel's selection largely picks itself in the majority of positions this evening, with first-choice goalkeeper Jordan Pickford certain to start between the sticks, while Nico O'Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Anderson, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane are all but guaranteed their places. The remaining selection headaches facing Tuchel centre on the left wing, where Anthony Gordon is pushing to displace Marcus Rashford, and the right wing, where Noni Madueke could find himself dropped in favour of Bukayo Saka.
Looking ahead to the quarter-finals
The England boss is looking forward to a thrilling encounter in Mexico City as his side seek to secure a quarter-final berth, where they would take on five-time champions Brazil or Norway in Atlanta next Saturday. He said: "It's even nicer than I expected. It just catches you straight away. Once we landed here and saw the excitement and emotions. The commitment of people for the World Cup. I felt straight away that this will be a proper World Cup match tomorrow. We knew it before. We are in an iconic place, an iconic stadium. A massive knockout game against Mexico in the Azteca Stadium. It's an iconic match and a big stage and we feel it."
Mexico's formidable record
Mexico have claimed victory in all four of their World Cup fixtures to date, keeping a clean sheet throughout. El Tri have also suffered just two competitive defeats at the Azteca since the stadium's inauguration in 1966. Tuchel added: "We know everything about the Mexican team. They are now in the top 10 in the world rankings. They have [had] some good results in the last matches. Not only now in the World Cup but especially since March where they played Belgium, Portugal. Top-tier nations. I think we are prepared. We saw the strengths. We [will] try to exploit weaknesses like always, but we are full of respect, but we also believe in us. We need to play the best version offensively and defensively that we showed until now in moments of every match. Tomorrow we will bring it together for a top performance that we need to achieve our goal to beat Mexico."
