Thomas Tuchel's England go into Mexico with the same question still hanging over them, and it is not about goals. The issue is the right side of defence. England have used five different right-backs across four matches, Reece James missed the Panama and Congo DR games because of a hamstring injury, and he remains doubtful for Mexico.

England's unsettled right side

The latest stopgap was Djed Spence, but even that solution did not settle the argument. Jarell Quansah was selected at right-back for Panama ahead of Spence, while Gary Neville has said he was actually “crying out” for Declan Rice to be used there in the second half of Arsenal’s game at West Ham, after first thinking it was the wrong call.

That is the awkward part for Tuchel. Rice has been one of England's steadier performers, with three World Cup appearances, one assist in 253 minutes and a 7.1 average rating across those matches. Moving him out of midfield is a compromise, which is why the debate has not settled around a single obvious fix.

Sean Dyche has pushed the opposite side of the argument. He said he was surprised Spence made the squad, and added: “What is the point in taking a right-back there if you're not gonna play him in their natural slot?” Dyche also argued that England's defenders need to become a back four, not just four individual good defenders.

Tuchel's game-day case

The other side of the Tuchel story is his in-game management. Declan Rice said Tuchel's half-time words “settled everyone”, while Tuchel's former assistant Benjamin Weber said he is “very good within the game” and “always coaching during the game to make the adaptations”.

That matters because England's results have not collapsed while the right-back issue has gone unresolved. They have won three of their last four World Cup matches under Tuchel, with a draw against Ghana, so the real discussion is about selection and structure rather than basic survival.

Tuchel has already shown he is prepared to move pieces around to find a better balance. The problem is that the right-back slot keeps forcing a fresh decision. Mexico is the next chance to see whether he sticks with a natural full-back, leans on Rice again, or reaches for another emergency option.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →