Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson and James Trafford.

Jordan Pickford is guaranteed to be on the plane to the 2026 World Cup as a reliable number one for England over the last few international tournaments.

Pickford rarely lets England down and is settled as the number one keeper with 81 caps to his name. I think Dean Henderson will be his deputy in America. He’s been the most consistent of the rest of the keepers in the running to be on the plane and has played under Tuchel in a few friendlies and qualifiers already. 

The third spot is an open race between Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale, Jason Steele and Trafford, with this being particularly intriguing as two of those options are at the same club. I really like Trafford, and Tuchel has included him in squads before - it feels like Trafford is primed to take over from Pickford at some point when he can get regular minutes at a club, and this would be a good experience for him at a major tournament.

I think Trafford has the edge over Pope and Ramsdale as neither have been that convincing for Newcastle this season, and this is likely to be a non-playing role, so the experience for Trafford could be invaluable as a potential future England number one.

Tuchel has hinted at taking a fourth keeper, with Jason Steele interestingly included in the most recent squad. Tuchel has confirmed that he sees Steele as almost a coach for the other keepers, which is a bit bizarre considering that he would take up a spot in the squad - and because Pickford is already well established on the international stage.

Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Harry Maguire and Lewis Hall. 

In my opinion, this is the weakest part of the England squad. Our centre back depth is not convincing and an injury to either Stones or Guehi could prove problematic to England’s chances of going deep in the tournament. 

Tuchel is a big fan of Dan Burn and has included him in every camp when he’s been fit, he is particularly useful from set pieces and crucially offers height - which is otherwise lacking when looking through England’s current centre back options.

The ideal starting centre back pairing for Tuchel would be Stones and Guehi, though he can’t bank on the fitness of the former, who has only started four games in the Premier League this season. If Stones doesn’t quite make it, I would put Maguire in his place - he’s a reliable performer for England and should get decent minutes from now until the end of the season.

I thought Trevoh Chalobah would also come into Tuchel’s thinking before his recent injury. He’s performed admirably in the absence of Levi Colwill for Chelsea and emerged as the Blues’ best centre back this season. It is worth noting that Colwill offers something totally unique to England, but his chances of being fit in time for the World Cup are extremely low. Chalobah may be involved if he recovers in time, but he is expected to miss six weeks with his latest injury. 

Reece James leads the names for the full back areas, and I think Tuchel will favour Nico O’Reilly on the opposite side. Lewis Hall has also come into contention with his recent performances for Newcastle, but he hasn’t featured at any of the camps under Tuchel, so it may be hard for him to win over the former Chelsea boss.

James’ recent injury has completely changed the right back discussion. It’s not clear if James will return for the World Cup at the moment - but it’s also a reminder to Tuchel that he cannot rely entirely on the fitness of James, despite his obvious talent. 

Tino Livramento is also likely to get the call-up from Tyneside, given his flexibility to play on either side. I think the final full back position is between Livramento and Djed Spence, Tuchel is a big fan of Spence and likes to have variety in the squad, so Spence’s 1v1 ability may appeal to him more than Livramento.

Elliot Anderson, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo

Elliot Anderson is definitely going to be on the plane to the World Cup after making the holding midfield position his own during the camps under Tuchel. He should start alongside Rice in the middle of the park, beating out competition from Adam Wharton and Kobbie Mainoo. I do think one of Mainoo or Wharton will go to the World Cup, and I would lean more towards Mainoo at the moment. 

I don’t want to see Jordan Henderson in the England squad, but it’s nearly nailed on that he will feature in the summer for the Three Lions in a supporting and experienced role. I do think that his spot in the squad could be better allocated, especially with the emerging quality we are seeing in midfield areas for England, but Tuchel is adamant that Henderson has a positive impact on the squad.

I think we will see Jude Bellingham in the more advanced role, but Morgan Rogers can’t be too far behind the Galactico in the thinking of Thomas Tuchel, following his superb season for Aston Villa. He’s also impressed as a number 10 for the Three Lions, so he will be firmly in Tuchel’s thinking - potentially for a starting role if he can maintain his current level of performance for Unai Emery’s side.

There is then a really intriguing battle for the final attacking midfield spot between Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Eberechi Eze. I think Foden has done more this season for City and will have the edge on Palmer and Eze for that reason, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tuchel take one of Eze and Palmer as well, due to their known individual quality and ability to play a variety of positions. 

Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dominic Solanke

The left wing spot in this England side is a straight shoot-out between Gordon and Rashford, though both should be on the plane to the World Cup. Tuchel wants his wingers to be direct and run in behind, which is why players like Grealish haven’t been favoured by Tuchel, and these traits are non-negotiable for the former Chelsea boss.

The right wing should be home to Bukayo Saka, though the Arsenal winger is continually battling with injury issues, and I don’t think England can rely on him being 100% fit for this World Cup. Tuchel is a fan of Madueke, who impressed in his brief cameos for the Three Lions last year, but his domestic form has been far from electric, which may prompt Tuchel to look at Jarrod Bowen - though I think big six bias will come into Tuchel’s final selection.

Harry Kane is the first name on the team sheet and will lead the line for most of the tournament. This makes the back-up striker role less important, but England aren’t particularly strong in this area either, with the other options being Ollie Watkins, Solanke, Calvert-Lewin and Toney. Tuchel should favour Calvert-Lewin based on this season’s performances.