Thomas Tuchel has opened up on his decision to drop John Stones and Nico O’Reilly for tonight’s World Cup clash between England and Ghana in Boston.
Marc Guehi and Djed Spence have been drafted in for the clash, with the rest of the Three Lions’ starting XI unchanged.
England were impressive going forward against Croatia last week, scoring four times via a Harry Kane double and further efforts from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford.
However, they were vulnerable at the back, with Tuchel now choosing to act.
Speaking to the BBC, Tuchel elaborated on his thinking.
The 52-year-old said: “They [Guehi and Spence] deserve to play and we have a little bit more speed and a different profile of players.
Marc is a little bit more agile and faster than John [Stones] and it is more convenient for him to play on the left side [of centre-back], and Djed justa bit more defensive and faster, more defensive to control the counter attacks.
Thomas Tuchel has opened up on his decision to drop John Stones and Nico O’Reilly for tonight’s World Cup clash between England and Ghana in Boston
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Marc Guehi starts for England against Ghana tonight
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“Ghana are happy to give up possession and they want to have ball wins in the centre of the pitch.
“They want us to fall asleep, their opponents to feel safe, and then do the counter-attacks with very fast and physical players.
“The other thing is very direct out to the wings. I think we will have a lot of duels on the wing-back position and we need to be careful in the coverage and be aggressive to stop counter-attacks before they get dangerous.”
England’s record at the World Cup | GETTY/ GB NEWS
Tuchel also expressed his satisfaction over the state of the pitch as England look to make it back-to-back World Cup wins.
“Always it’s important [to stay patient],” he said.
“I just heard the grass is a bit long so we are happy that it has been raining, maybe not too fast, let’s see.
“We need to adapt. It is important we find a good balance between patience and intensity and the freedom to attack.
“While we are attacking we need to protect ourselves from being too open.”
England go into the clash hoping to break tradition.
Djed Spence gets the nod at left-back for England’s World Cup showdown with Ghana
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They have drawn their second match of a major tournament eight times over the years, particularly under Gareth Southgate.
At Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 respectively, they produced stalemates against Scotland and Denmark.
And, at the 2022 World Cup, they were forced to settle for a point in a drab 0-0 draw with the United States.
Tuchel is eager for England to win tonight to boost their chances of topping the group.
“Winning is always the most important of course, but listen, even a draw is not the end of the world,” he continued. “We want to put out a good performance and continue where we left off.
“I’m pretty sure Ghana dreams of winning. We have a very tough group and after a tough first match comes the next match. It’s a tough game against a strong opponent, we will try to make it happen and go for the win.”
