Does any nation head to North America for this summer’s FIFA World Cup under more pressure to deliver than England? Under former manager Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions reached back-to-back European Championship finals, their first showpiece games at a major tournament since winning the World Cup on home turf back in 1966. Inexplicably, they lost both, with the giant Gianluigi Donnarumma becoming the Italian hero at Wembley in 2021 and Mikel Oyarzabal assuming that same role but for Spain in the summer of 2024.
Since that most recent heartbreak, England has moved on. Southgate walked away from his dream job, understanding that fans had turned on him despite him becoming the second most successful Three Lions boss of all time behind World Cup winner Alf Ramsey. Chelsea’s former Champions League-winning boss Thomas Tuchel has since taken over, and the German has immediately hit the ground running, winning all eight of his qualifying games in charge without conceding a single goal.
With just four months between now and the June 11th curtain raiser in Mexico City, there are plenty of decisions to be made, and not just from Tuchel. By the time the World Cup rolls around, online betting aficionados will have to decide whether they need to ditch their current betting site in favor of the brand-new Ozoon sports betting site, an outlet that is poised to launch in a matter of weeks. The Canadian site is said to be rolling out an unrivaled offering to their players, with everyone’s favorite sports, teams, and markets all being covered in impeccable depth.
But while punters shift their chips over to Ozoon, Tuchel also has to decide whether he wants to stick or twist. Stick with the players that secured England’s World Cup qualification at a canter. Or, twist and reinstate some big names back to his squad. If it’s the former, then these three huge names may well not be handed a seat on the plane over the Atlantic this summer.
Jude Bellingham
Last summer, Jude Bellingham was on the operating table in Madrid, his shoulder finally getting the surgery he’d postponed for 18 months. Meanwhile, somewhere in England, Thomas Tuchel was taking his first steps in the Three Lions job without his talismanic midfielder. Ten to twelve weeks out. Missing Real Madrid’s entire pre-season, the first chunk of the 2025/26 La Liga season, and crucially—crucially—those early camps where the new German manager crafted his midfield hierarchy.
He returned in the fall to a different reality: four goals and three assists across 18 league appearances, numbers that would’ve been considered a catastrophe two seasons ago. Real Madrid’s own struggles compound everything—Bellingham’s not carrying them as he did in that electric first season at the Bernabeu. If anything, his attitude is making matters worse.
Here’s what’s killing him: Tuchel explicitly told reporters that Kane, Bellingham, and Foden can’t all play together in his system. And that was before the former Borussia Dortmund man struggled to recapture his best form. Now, midfielders Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice continue to deliver with Three Lions on their chest, as do attacking threats Morgan Rodgers, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Eberechi Eze.
So, who gets dropped? Well, Bellingham seems the most likely. The 22-year-old has already captained England, been the golden boy since 2021, and now he’s sitting in Madrid, wondering if he will even be on the plane. He’s got four months to prove he’s still untouchable. Right now? He’s not.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s Real Madrid move looked perfect on paper—join Bellingham at the Bernabéu, become a Galáctico, silence the defensive doubters. Instead? Eight La Liga starts all season, 392 minutes total across all competitions, some cameos lasting seven minutes. Zero goals, one assist, 87.4% pass accuracy, 23.4% crossing success—mediocre numbers for someone whose entire reputation is built on creative distribution.
Worse for the former Liverpool man, national team boss Tuchel’s system exposes everything. The German wants defensive solidity first, offensive creativity second. He’s running 4-4-1-1 and 3-4-3 variations that demand full-backs who defend properly or wing-backs with elite engine capacity. Reece James has emerged as Tuchel’s preferred right-sided option, the man who started under the German manager when Chelsea won the Champions League in 2021. Kyle Walker’s still there for experience, and Djed Spence has emerged as a genuine option after impressive form with Spurs.
All three of those options offer defensive reliability. Alexander-Arnold simply doesn’t. Tuchel watched him firsthand in Madrid, traveled specifically to scout him, and what’s he seen? A player who can’t get on the pitch.
The hybrid midfield experiments at Euro 2024—where Southgate deployed him centrally for England’s opening games—haven’t convinced Tuchel he’s versatile enough to justify selection as anything other than a specialist. And as a specialist right-back competing against fitter, more defensively sound alternatives? He’s vulnerable. Desperately vulnerable. He’s got until May to force his way first into Alvaro Arbeloa’s starting XI, prove his match fitness, and then—and only then—will he be given a chance to prove himself at the World Cup.
John Stones
Thirty-one years old. Four separate injuries last season. Thirty-three matches missed. Twelve games out with foot problems, three months gone to a hamstring tear. Pep Guardiola publicly discussed the need to “protect John’s long-term health” like he’s a fragile museum artifact. Manchester City’s medical staff is treating him like porcelain, reintegrating him with glacial caution because they know—everyone knows—one bad tackle, and he’s gone again.
This term, things haven’t gotten much better. The former Barnsley youngster is once again in the treatment room, forcing Guardiola to bring fellow England international Marc Guehi to the Etihad from Crystal Palace. Not only was the 25-year-old competing with Stones in the national team setup, but he may well also now keep him out of the Blues squad and ultimately, out of a third World Cup appearance.
Thomas Tuchel is building his World Cup defence, and reliability matters more than peak ability when you’ve only got 26 squad spots. Guehi is a shoo-in, as is Aston Villa captain Ezri Konsa, both of whom are likely to start England’s opener against Croatia in Dallas on June 17th, regardless of Stones’ fitness. Jarell Quansah, Dan Burn, and even Trevoh Chalobah are all getting minutes, all staying healthy, all proving they can be trusted across seven World Cup matches in 30 days. Tuchel’s preferred three-at-the-back system theoretically suits Stones’ ball-playing elegance, but what good is elegance when you’re perpetually unavailable?
