Chopping and changing the back four has been a big feature for England this year and the Real Madrid man could be a solution
England ended 2025 protected by a shield of deceptive strength. They went through qualifying for the World Cup without conceding a goal and secured a shutout during a routine friendly win against Wales. However, clean sheets have been harder to come by this year. England have kept four in 13 games in 2026, meaning it may not be long before Thomas Tuchel rethinks his suggestion that the way to deal with his side’s lack of control is to embrace chaos.
There is, of course, an irony to telling Tuchel to sort out his defence. Isn’t this what we wanted? England were limp and passive when they lost their World Cup semi-final against Argentina. At least the mindset was positive when Tuchel’s side opened their Nations League campaign with a sprightly but flawed 3-2 defeat against Spain last Saturday.
England played on the front foot and led after a thrilling surge. They had Spain on the ropes but it was unsustainable. Another lead was squandered against elite opposition, and although a lack of ambition was not to blame this time Tuchel still came away with tactical issues to solve before facing Czechia in Prague on Tuesday evening.
This is England’s second of four games during this break and they need a win to give themselves a proper shot of reaching the quarter-finals in March. Croatia await in Rijeka on Saturday and are likely to be tougher than a Czechia side who failed to make it out of a weak group at the World Cup.
England could do with a confidence-boosting clean sheet. They were worryingly fragile against Spain, who created an expected goals of 3.08 from open play, and could have been 4-0 down by the time Anthony Gordon cancelled out Lamine Yamal’s early goal.
Neutralising Albania, Andorra, Latvia and Serbia during World Cup qualifying told us nothing. England have since been breached by Uruguay, Japan, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Norway, Argentina, France and Spain. They were not tested when they kept clean sheets in World Cup warm-ups against against New Zealand and Costa Rica. They were fortunate not to concede during group games against Ghana and Panama.
There are individual and collective issues. Two of Spain’s goals were errors, with Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly punished. Jordan Pickford had some ropey moments in goal during the World Cup and Ezri Konsa has lacked consistency as Guéhi’s partner in the middle.
Tuchel wants an aggressive line. He has favoured a mobile pairing of Konsa and Guéhi in central defence in seven of the past 13 games. Alternatives such as Jarrad Branthwaite, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill are untested. A viable replacement for John Stones is yet to emerge. Stones starting forces England to move deeper but one of their better defensive displays at the World Cup came when the 32-year-old nullified Erling Haaland during the win against Norway.
However there is a misconception that England are experts at backs-to-the-wall defending. They were heroic when down to 10 during their last-16 win against Mexico, but they conceded a lot of chances from crosses when the numbers were even at the Azteca. The pressure eventually tells. Argentina saw England fall back, repeatedly hit them from the wide areas and grabbed the winner when Lionel Messi crossed for Lautaro Martínez to head home. Gareth Southgate’s England conceded from crosses and set pieces in crunch knockout games against Croatia, Italy and Spain.
Harry Maguire, a powerful aerial presence, played in two of those games. Tuchel has discarded him and is looking for a more progressive way than absorbing punches. Yet England’s lack of control leaves them susceptible in a variety of ways. Uruguay won an equalising penalty with a deep cross. Japan ran through midfield to score on the counterattack. Mexico profited from set pieces. Croatia and the DRC caused problems with switches of play. Spain cut through the middle for their winner on Saturday. It was easy to focus on the defenders being pulled out of position. It is worth remembering that England are not the same when Declan Rice is unavailable in midfield.
England do not function without Rice’s interceptions, positional discipline and ability to fill holes. There was a moment against Spain when Konsa goofed the interception after leaving his position to challenge for an Unai Simón clearance, forcing James Trafford to save after Ferran Torres darted through a big gap in England’s defence. The risks were extreme. England tried to go man-for-man but the centre-backs were missing and Jarell Quansah was 10 yards deeper than O’Reilly, the other full-back.
This can partly be put down to inexperience. O’Reilly and Quansah, more comfortable at centre-back, are young. Individual attributes also play a part. Southgate had the cheat code otherwise known as peak Kyle Walker, whose recovery pace at right-back gave England freedom to push up. Reece James is Tuchel’s first choice but does not have Walker’s durability. James is out of this camp after yet another injury and often plays as a midfielder for Chelsea, who feel their captain lacks the physical capacity to function as a modern full-back.
It is not ideal that Tuchel has had to chop and change so much. Southgate knew his best defence – Walker, John Stones, Maguire and Luke Shaw – but Tuchel has struggled to find a settled back four.
The Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento withdrew last week. Stones, Djed Spence and Dan Burn are also unavailable. There is a lot of flux. O’Reilly and Konsa followed individual programmes before England flew to Prague on Monday. Lewis Hall, who has four caps, could replace O’Reilly at left-back. Trent Alexander-Arnold could make his first international appearance since a brief runout against Andorra in June 2025.
Tuchel has looked at eight right-backs since last giving Alexander-Arnold a chance. He did not take the Real Madrid right-back to the World Cup and does not trust his defensive acumen. The counter-argument is that England are not exactly solid without Alexander-Arnold; what do they have to lose by trying to tap into his creative threat?
