Saka races to be fit as Tuchel weighs three key England selections for Croatia opener

Bukayo Saka is working to prove his fitness ahead of England’s World Cup Group Stage opener against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday, but Thomas Tuchel has confirmed the Arsenal winger has been unable to train every day due to a persistent Achilles issue.

Tuchel revealed that Saka has been playing through pain and requires careful management, casting doubt over whether he will be ready to start what the England camp regards as arguably the toughest fixture in their group. Noni Madueke, who started England’s final pre-tournament friendly against Costa Rica, is considered a strong contender for the right-wing berth and is described as a firm favourite of the head coach.

“Bukayo is just not there yet,” Tuchel said earlier this week. “Some things are missing — consecutive training. He is at the moment not able to do every training session through the week and then play. He is still going to be managed. They decided together, Bukayo and Arsenal, to let him play through his pain and discomfort, even if it was not possible to train the whole week in the build-ups.”

The selection dilemma at No10 is equally unresolved. Jude Bellingham is understood to be in pole position ahead of Morgan Rogers for the creative role behind the striker, with Tuchel describing the Real Madrid midfielder as being in a “sweet spot” during training. Bellingham has also been handed the No10 shirt for the tournament, a detail that is being read as a significant signal of intent.

In central defence, Tuchel faces a third difficult call. John Stones and Ezri Konsa started together against Costa Rica and impressed, complicating the path for Marc Guehi, who had previously been considered the frontrunner to partner one of the other two. Tuchel is said to be a strong admirer of both Konsa and Stones, and the decision to field them together in the final warm-up game may prove telling.

England know that a positive result against Croatia — who they defeated at Euro 2020 before losing to them at the 2018 World Cup — could go a long way to defining their progress through the group stage.