England vs Spain lineup revealed as Thomas Tuchel makes an unexpected choice
England’s team for their Nations League game against Spain has been leaked, and Thomas Tuchel has made a surprise choice.
In their first match of four during this three-week international break, England will host world champions Spain at Wembley Stadium. This is the Three Lions’ first game since they lost the World Cup semi-final to Argentina in July. It looks like Tuchel is ready to try out some new players in the starting lineup.
Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett shared on X that Tuchel has benched Jordan Pickford and will start Leeds United’s goalkeeper James Trafford instead. Pickford has been England’s main goalie since Gareth Southgate’s time, but Trafford—who has played really well since his big £40 million move to Leeds—is now expected to take over.
Also, Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah is likely to start at right-back instead of Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. Quansah played a lot for Tuchel this summer and showed promise, even though his tournament had a tough moment with a red card against Mexico.
Young Arsenal player Myles Lewis-Skelly is also expected in the team. He’s been playing as a central midfielder this season but is naturally a left-back, showing his flexibility under coach Mikel Arteta.
England’s lineup versus Spain looks like this: James Trafford; Jarell Quansah, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly; Elliot Anderson, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane.
Five players have pulled out of the England squad for the September/October games, including Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo, and Tino Livramento. Palmer said he withdrew because of a minor groin injury and some discomfort. This led Tuchel to question how committed Palmer is to the national team.
“He misses too many chances to be part of the team, and I’m not blaming him, but it’s a fact,” Tuchel said before the match. “He misses too many camps due to injuries, and I want to rely only on players I see in the camp.”
Tuchel’s decision to leave the Chelsea star out of the World Cup squad was controversial, and many people questioned it. Although Palmer had a tough season with Chelsea, his talent could have helped England against Argentina. But since then, Palmer has started the Premier League season strong, with two goals and two assists in five games.
A big part of Palmer’s fast start has been his close connection with Morgan Rogers, who has also been doing great since moving to Chelsea for £117 million from Aston Villa. The two have formed a strong partnership with Joao Pedro. When asked about Palmer, Rogers said: “We’re different players. He’s more technical, and I’m more physical and powerful. I told him when I joined that he’ll make a big difference. We’re also signing other players, so we have a good team and can do well.”
Chelsea will be back in action against Bournemouth on October 10.