Rashford and Guehi present Tuchel with selection dilemmas

England's attacking display in their opening World Cup victory against Croatia in Dallas generated excitement but left head coach Thomas Tuchel with key decisions to make. The 4-2 win exposed vulnerabilities in defence, particularly after Tuchel selected Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa ahead of Manchester City's Marc Guehi to partner John Stones. In attack, substitute Marcus Rashford scored England's final goal after replacing new Barcelona signing Anthony Gordon, who started on the left flank.

England's World Cup campaign now moves to Boston, where they face Ghana on Tuesday. Tuchel must decide whether to stick with his current lineup or make changes. Despite the praise for England's performance, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was forced into a vital save from Igor Matanovic when the score was 3-2, before Rashford's goal settled the nerves. The decisions at centre-back and on the left side of attack appear to be Tuchel's biggest dilemmas.

Guehi or Konsa at centre-back?

Tuchel's choice of Konsa over Guehi raised eyebrows, but a review of his team selections since succeeding Sir Gareth Southgate suggests it should not have been a surprise. Of England's 15 games under Tuchel, Konsa has started 10, third behind Pickford and Harry Kane, who have both started 12. Konsa is also third in minutes played, with 933 behind Pickford (1,008) and Kane (938). Guehi has started only seven games, playing 504 minutes. Notably, Tuchel was in charge at Chelsea when Guehi was sold to Crystal Palace in July 2021.

Konsa had moments of uncertainty, including being caught out of position when Petar Musa scored Croatia's second equaliser. However, Tuchel is a known admirer of Konsa's physical and footballing attributes, which are believed to have settled the selection. With Tuchel's confidence in 32-year-old Stones—who started only five Premier League games last season before leaving Manchester City—the battle for the starting spot appears to be between Konsa and Guehi.

Former players weigh in

Former England striker Chris Sutton believes Tuchel should pair Konsa and Guehi together rather than starting Stones. Speaking to BBC Sport, Sutton said: "Why is the debate Guehi for Konsa and not Stones? I'd have Guehi and Konsa because they are the best defenders. Don't get me wrong, John Stones has been a great player and I have huge respect for his career, but you are talking about a guy who doesn't even have a club for next season yet. I don't think Stones has the athleticism which the other two possess. It's nothing against John, who has been a brilliant player. He's got more composure on the ball, which he's always had, but once England get out of the group, which they will, you will need your best defenders when you're playing against the best attackers. I think Konsa and Guehi have better attributes in terms of one-against-one situations than John Stones and there will be times in games when they will be isolated one-against-one against players of the highest class."

Paul Robinson, the former England goalkeeper who is BBC Radio 5 Live's analyst at England's games, believes Tuchel will make changes—but only because he can manage a strong squad, not due to defensive concerns. He said: "The defence looked nervous at times but there is context. This is the first game of a major tournament and Croatia are ranked 11th in the world. They have troubled England before and they have medals from reaching the final and semi-final in the past two World Cups. You can pick holes in it tactically at the back, but the pleasing thing for Thomas Tuchel was that it wasn't individual errors. It was a collective unit. He can work on that in training. I think there are a lot of people who are quick to criticise when actually you should look at the positives."