Marc Guéhi's hip problem has turned England's build-up to Croatia and Spain into a squad-management issue. He went off at half-time of Nottingham Forest's defeat, Dan Burn has been added as cover, and Thomas Tuchel is already asking which players stay with camp and which ones leave it.
England's selection squeeze
Tuchel did not try to hide the point he wanted to make. Speaking to mirror.co.uk, he said: "It's always the ones who are in camp, the ones who don't withdraw. The ones who walk the talk, and come to camp and show it matters and put the quality in. That's what we will always reward."
England are due to join up on Monday ahead of games with Croatia and Spain, so the change arrives at a bad time. They face Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, 12 November, before travelling to Madrid to face Spain on Saturday, 15 November.
The injury concern comes as England sit second in League A - Group C with 9 points from 4 played. Their recent Nations League run is three wins and one loss, while Spain arrive after five straight wins.
Burn's return to the squad
Burn has been called in as Guehi's replacement, and his route back is a familiar one under Tuchel. He has earned all 11 of his England caps during Tuchel's tenure, which makes him a trusted standby rather than a fresh experiment.
He joined the rest of the squad at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground on Monday morning, so England have their cover in place before the group gathers in full. Tuchel has also said the last camp was excellent and that the trust and belief is on the players who were there.
That leaves England with a familiar problem before a pair of difficult fixtures. The squad looks intact on paper, but the defensive plans have already been altered once, and the next update on Guehi will decide whether Burn is a short-term call or part of a longer shuffle.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
