England have a former Chelsea manager in charge, but will there be any Chelsea representation in his first World Cup lineup? Cole Palmer was the most notable omission when Thomas Tuchel named his 26-man squad last month, a list that included just one Chelsea player. Well, that number doubled on Tuesday when, after Tino Livramento suffered a calf injury, Trevoh Chalobah was called up as his replacement. This could also have a knock-on effect for James in the right-back pecking order, so will he start England's opener against Croatia at AT&T Stadium?
Is Reece James expected to play for England tonight?
Put succinctly, yes. James is likely to be England's first-choice right-back this summer, following Kyle Walker's international remittent and Trent Alexander-Arnold controversial exclusion from the squad. James saw the second 45 of the warm-up friendly against New Zealand in Tampa, after it was Jarell Quansah who started. Four days later, across Florida, the 26 year old got 63 minutes into his legs before being replaced by Djed Spence.
England's right-back depth chart at the World Cup
As alluded to, there's no Walker, Alexander-Arnold, Benjamin White nor Tino Livramento. However, four members of Tuchel's squad are considered right-back options, including the recently drafted in Chalobah.
Players | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|
Reece James | Chelsea | 24 |
Djed Spence | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
Jarell Quansah | Bayer Leverkusen | 3 |
Trevoh Chalobah | Chelsea | 1 |
Quansah and Chalobah, both centre-backs by trade, are very inexperienced at international level. The latter's one and only cap to date came in Nottingham a year ago during a 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal. Meantime, Djed Spence is the nominal deputy, despite only having six caps to his name, debuting off the bench in place of James during September's 5-0 hammering of Serbia at Stadion Rajko Mitić in Belgrade.
How Reece James has performed for England recently
Given who is in Tuchel's squad, he is surely envisaging a major role for James this summer. The Chelsea defender started five of the eight qualifiers last year, scoring his first England goal, an absolutely magnificent free-kick when Latvia visited Wembley.
Before returning in March 2025, it was two years since James had featured for his country, missing 20 consecutive matches, including their run to the final of Euro 2024. Having also not gone to Qatar either, he will make his World Cup debut in Arlington.
Considering his injury problems, James may have feared that his international career was over. However, the appointment of Tuchel has been great news, considering that the full-back was a pivotal part of the German's success when he was at Stamford Bridge, looking to recreate that on the international stage. Back then, James was a flying wing-back, but has since been transformed into a central midfielder by Enzo Maresca, so it'll be fascinating to see what style of defender he is in England colours.
England team news
Aside from the departed Livramento, Tuchel has a fully fit squad from which to choose. He is expected to name a similar lineup to the one that started against Costa Rica in Orlando a week ago, with a couple of spots up for grabs. Bukayo Saka could return in place of former Chelsea man Noni Madueke while, on the opposite flank, Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford are vying for the starting spot.
England predicted lineup
- Jordan Pickford
- Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones & Nico O'Reilly
- Elliot Anderson & Declan Rice
- Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham & Anthony Gordon
- Harry Kane
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