Marc Guéhi is at the centre of England's latest debate before the World Cup opener against Croatia. Thomas Tuchel is reportedly weighing up whether to leave him out, but the pushback has come quickly, with Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, Joe Cole and Micah Richards all backing the Crystal Palace defender to start. England are chasing a first major tournament win in 60 years, and they go into the tournament described as the third favourites.

Why the pundits are backing Guehi

Shearer was the bluntest. “I would start Guehi and Konsa, just because of Stones' lack of football, he didn't play much this season and this is obviously a very important game. So I would go with Guehi and Konsa. It will be a big surprise if Guehi is left out, not many people wouldn't have started Guehi in this first game,” he told football365.com.

Lineker was also clear. “I would certainly start Marc Guehi. If Stones is fit I would start him as well,” he said.

Cole went further, calling Guehi “the number one centre half in the squad” and adding that he found it strange they were even talking about leaving him out. Richards, meanwhile, said he would play Guehi and Stones because they complement each other well, even while praising Ezri Konsa as dependable.

The form case is not hard to see. Guehi’s last five club outings read 7.9, 7.5, 7.5, 6.6 and 6.6, and his most recent league match brought 93 minutes. That is a player arriving with match sharpness, not one needing a rescue job.

Stones' minutes are the real issue

If Tuchel does prefer another pairing, the argument appears to come back to rhythm. Stones' recent minutes run is 78, 12, 90, 90 and 65, which is exactly the sort of profile that makes a major tournament opener awkward for a manager who wants reliability from the first whistle.

The reported alternative is Stones and Konsa, with Tuchel said to want a more imposing centre-back pairing that can also be a bigger set-piece threat. That is a legitimate selection idea, but the current noise around it leans heavily towards Guehi staying in. Given the way Shearer, Lineker, Cole and Richards have lined up, leaving him out would be the bigger surprise.

England face England vs Croatia on Wednesday night in Dallas, and the centre-back call is already one of the first real talking points of the tournament.

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