Thomas Tuchel has a problem most managers would envy: too many good players, not enough shirts. But as England opens its 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday night, a more pressing question is taking shape in the technical staff’s war room — not who starts, but who can’t be replaced.
According to sources close to the camp, Tuchel has been remarkably candid with his squad about a reality that every tournament-winning manager eventually faces. The group stage is about rotation, but the knockout rounds are about the irreplaceable few. And at this World Cup, the gap between the top line and the rest of the roster is wider than many fans realize.
Here’s how the 26-man squad stacks up in terms of pure, unvarnished importance to Tuchel’s plan — from the players who are essentially along for the ride to the ones whose absence would force a fundamental rethink of England’s identity.
Bottom of the Barrel: The Tourists
Let’s start with the obvious. The No. 3 goalkeeper, James Trafford, is here in case of a biblical plague. Jason Steele, the other backup, might as well be on vacation — and that’s not meant as disrespect. It’s just the reality of tournament football.
Further up the fringes, Jarell Quansah’s inclusion raised eyebrows across the Bundesliga watch parties. The Bayer Leverkusen defender is fifth-choice at center-back but gets a slight bump because he can deputize at full-back. He’s a utility knife in a toolbox full of scalpels.
The Specialty Acts
Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins sit in an interesting tension. Toney is clearly Tuchel’s pet project — the manager brought him back from international exile for a reason, and it’s not just for penalty shootouts. Watkins, meanwhile, has the resume to be the primary backup to Harry Kane. But Tuchel’s affection for Toney’s aura, as insiders describe it, means the Brentford-ish striker gets the nod for the bench rotation.
Jude Bellingham’s place in this ranking veered wildly over the past year. Tuchel famously left him out of starting XIs and even entire squads during the qualifying phase — reportedly to teach the Real Madrid star some hard lessons about team structure. But something clicked. Bellingham not only won back the No. 10 role but has been trusted as a stand-in center-forward. Giving him the captain’s armband was Tuchel’s way of saying the carrot works better than the stick. The press corps, however, hasn’t put their own sticks away yet.
The Backbone
Jordan Pickford is England’s undisputed No. 1, and it’s not close. It might take him breaking Peter Shilton’s caps record for goalkeepers before the nation fully appreciates the security he’s brought to the position.
Declan Rice, the next captain in waiting, is pushing the current skipper very close. Coming off a title-winning season at Arsenal, the 27-year-old has silenced every remaining doubter. There isn’t a phase of England’s play — possession, transition, set pieces — where Rice isn’t a leading man.
But let’s be honest. It’s still Kane, isn’t it? England’s all-time leading scorer enters his sixth major tournament in the shape of his life. The alternatives are fine players, goalscorers of pedigree, but Kane’s absence is the one Tuchel would feel most. Which is why everyone in the England camp is quietly praying that his ridiculous durability doesn’t fail at the worst possible moment.
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