England face Panama in their final group stage game of the World Cup tonight and Thomas Tuchel has made some big changes to his line-up as the Three Lions look to secure top spot in the group
England's team for their final group stage game of the World Cup has been 'leaked' ahead of tonight's clash with Panama, with Thomas Tuchel making some big decisions.
The main question mark had been who would replace the injured Reece James at right back, with Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice also nursing a knock from Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Ghana. England have already secured qualification for the knockout stages, but know they must beat Panama and at least match Ghana's scoreline, if they beat Croatia, to top the group.
With that in mind, and against a Panama team still yet to score a goal at this summer's tournament , many had expected a highly rotated England side. It was reported earlier in the day by Italian Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, that Thomas Tuchel is set to field a strong line-up.
According to The Athletic, Morgan Rogers and Jarell Quansah are both set to start, with the latter deputising at right-back for the injued Reece James. Elsewhere, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are set to be named in the starting line-up.
Despite concerns over Elliot Anderson's fitness, the 23-year-old retains his place in the team despite glute tightness. The midfielder is then expected to complete a medical back in Kansas City before making a Β£116million move to Manchester City .
Nico O'Reilly was a shock exclusion from the team that played Ghana, but the Premier League Young Player of the Year is expected to replace Djed Spence in the starting line-up.
It had initially been thought that James would miss tonight's game and England's last 32 tie, but a worrying update this morning suggested that his tournament could be under threat.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Rob Dorsett said: "Reece James' hamstring injury is worse than originally thought and I've been told the chances of him playing any more minutes at the World Cup depend entirely on whether England can reach the latter stages of the tournament."
Losing James for a substantial part of the tournament would be a major blow to England's hopes, having already lost back up right back Tino Livramento before the first game of the tournament.
Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah was called up as a replacement, although he, like other members of the squad, is a more natural centre back option than right back.