Thomas Tuchel is building an England defence that can win him the World Cup – here’s how it could look

Thursday evening’s win over Wales was another step forward for Thomas Tuchel as England manager.

England were comfortable in the friendly at Wembley and Tuchel has been characteristically bold in his comments about keeping his focus on team over talent with World Cup 2026 on the horizon.

Serbia’s surprise Group K loss against Albania in Leskovac on Saturday means England would secure their World Cup spot with a win over Latvia in Riga on Tuesday.

Who will play in defence for England at the World Cup?

Tuchel was brought in to replace former manager Gareth Southgate with a brief to continue England’s trend of routine qualification and add a sharper winning edge in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.

With the first box close to being ticked with two games to spare, attention will soon turn fully to the second part of the job. It hasn’t been a case of continuity at all costs for Tuchel and England’s defence isn’t just an evolving group – it’s a crucial one.

England’s back four against Spain in the European Championship final in 2024 featured Marc Guehi and John Stones in the middle, Kyle Walker on the right and Luke Shaw on the left.

At 35, Walker was last called up for England in the summer. Shaw hasn’t appeared for England since that final. In contrast, Guehi and Stones played 80 minutes together again at Wembley in the most recent game.

Yet there are question marks over who should play at the back for England next summer and, more pertinently, where exactly they should play.

Guehi has overtaken Stones as the player around whom England’s defensive unit should be constructed. He has emerged as England’s best centre-back and he could feasibly play for another decade.

Stones will surely be in contention but he will turn 32 before the World Cup and has started three Premier League matches this season. In 2024-25, he played 548 league minutes for Manchester City.

Like Shaw, Stones’ fitness and availability have given Tuchel cause to unearth other configurations at the back.

27-year-old Ezri Konsa has enjoyed a fine run in the national team since making his senior debut in March 2024. The Aston Villa centre-back has combined especially well with Guehi but played at right-back – a position in which he has played many times for Villa largely against his own best interests – against Wales last week.

At club level, Konsa has been shifted to the right when full-back Matty Cash has been unavailable. For England, he played out wide to accommodate Stones. In a sense, it was the only decision Tuchel has made so far in the current international match window that was a matter of talent over team.

‘Guehi is a definite starter’

In FourFourTwo’s opinion, Tuchel has the personnel he needs to select a defence without positional compromise. He has round pegs for round holes.

Tuchel’s squad includes Djed Spence, who can play on either flank, and Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly. Nico O’Reilly is hoping for his first cap.

Trent Alexander-Arnold and Reece James are waiting in the wings at right-back. Tino Livramento is an option on either side of the defence. Rico Lewis and Lewis Hall were both capped by interim England boss Lee Carsley last year.

Southgate’s permanent successor is gearing up for the World Cup with an impressive defensive corps upon which to build a serious tilt at glory.

Guehi is a definite starter, Konsa a likely one. With impressive and varied options in the full-back positions and Tuchel setting out his intention to put the team dynamic first, the next six or seven months will be crucial for the clutch of players battling for fewer places than there are bodies.