Neville warns Tuchel's right-back crisis could haunt England in World Cup knockouts

Gary Neville has warned that England’s right-back situation could become a serious problem in the knockout stages of the World Cup, after Thomas Tuchel named Jarell Quansah in the position for the Group L clash against Panama. The selection is one of five changes Tuchel made to his starting XI, with England already through to the last 32.

The decision was forced in part by injury. Reece James is unlikely to feature unless England advance deep into the tournament, while Tino Livramento has already departed the squad with a fitness problem. Rather than call up a specialist replacement, Tuchel brought in central defender Trevoh Chalobah, leaving Djed Spence as the only recognised right back in the group — though the Tottenham defender starts on the bench against Panama.

Neville, speaking as a pundit, was direct about his concerns. “He’s making a lot of changes to it,” he said of Tuchel’s lineup. “He said before the tournament that he wanted 14 or 15 starters and he’s on starter number 17 already. The one position I think I am pretty qualified to speak on is right back, and if you had said to me a couple of months ago that Quansah would be playing right-back for England in a tournament, I would say something has gone badly wrong.”

Neville also pointed to the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold as a factor in England’s current predicament. “He’s picked Reece James and Livramento, players who are injury prone. He’s not brought Trent Alexander-Arnold, who obviously is someone with world-class quality, for what reasons we can only imagine. That is where we are right now — England will win this group and win this game, but there is some turbulence in there.”

The former Manchester United defender added that Quansah’s inclusion against Panama is likely a pragmatic call rather than a long-term solution. “Djed Spence is the only real option at right-back. Quansah is not an option going into the games further into the tournament, so I think the reasons he has probably done it today are he is thinking: ‘Look, we can handle Panama, Quansah can play there, and Spence can come in for the last 32.’”

Fellow pundit Roy Keane echoed the concern about England’s positional depth. “When you start getting into knockout games, you don’t want a jack of all trades,” Keane said. “You need masters at these positions. That would be the worry going forward.”

England must still secure top spot in Group L, and Tuchel has already been forced to rely on greater squad depth than he appeared to plan for heading into the tournament.