The three England stars yet to play a minute at the World Cup and the reasons why | Football | Sport
England are through to the semi-finals of the World Cup for just the fourth time in their history. The Three Lions have had to dig deep on several occasions so far this summer, with gutsy wins against DR Congo, Mexico and Norway having paved their way to the semi-finals.
A victory against Argentina on Wednesday night will see them into their first World Cup final since 1966, with history beckoning for Thomas Tuchel’s side. Tuchel himself has earned plenty of plaudits for his exploits at the World Cup, having initially come under fire for his squad selection.
The likes of Noni Madueke, Djed Spence and Dan Burn were all criticised for their inclusion, but so far it has worked a treat. Madueke has deputised for the injured Saka, while Spence and Burn have come off the bench to good effect in each of England’s previous two knockout triumphs.
The narrative has done a complete 180 flip, with Tuchel having now earned plaudits for the way he’s managed his squad and utilised all areas of the team. Throughout England’s six matches at the World Cup so far, Tuchel has used 20 of his 23 outfield players, including Jordan Henderson, whose pick really did raise eyebrows.
The trio who haven’t seen any game time yet are: Trevoh Chalobah, Ivan Toney and Kobbie Mainoo. The first two should come as little surprise, given Chalobah was drafted in as the late replacement for Tino Livramento, who suffered an injury on the eve of England’s first match.
Toney, meanwhile, is believed to be in the squad as a penalty expert, given his imperious record from the spot. But what about Mainoo?
The Manchester United youngster turned his season around under Michael Carrick and entered the World Cup in fine form. Given Declan Rice’s injury issues, it is perhaps somewhat of a surprise that Mainoo hasn’t seen the pitch more often.
Reece James, whose preferred position is at right back, was ushered into the team at half-time in Saturday’s Norway clash to replace the struggling Rice. Explaining his decision, Tuchel said: “Very good [on the subs], Reece James was excellent, Morgan Rogers was fantastic today, Ebs [Eze] grew into the game, Djed grew into the game.
Before adding: “Full credit to them. But overall yeah, we got lucky today. It’s about quality. We need to play better. We will get better.”
Progression to the last four has confirmed England will play at least two more matches, be that a semi-final and the final, or a third-place play-off. Mainoo, Toney and Chalobah will still be crossing their fingers that a chance to feature is just around the corner.
