Tuchel confident he can strike right midfield balance for England

Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is still searching for the right central midfield pairing with the World Cup now just nine months away.

Tuchel called Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton into the England senior squad for the first time for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday and Serbia in Belgrade next week.

Wharton's subsequent withdrawal through injury also meant a call-up for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who will compete with Anderson, Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson for minutes in the next two games.

• WC 2026 European qualifying schedule | Who has qualified so far?
• 2026 World Cup: Dates, venues and everything you need to know

Tuchel has called up 13 different midfielders in three squads since he became England manager. It is clearly an area of the team where he has more questions than answers, but he is confident he can strike the right balance.

He said: "At the moment the four players are competing in central midfield, Jordan [Henderson], Declan [Rice], Elliot [Anderson] and Ruben [Loftus-Cheek]. They are all very mobile players and there is not one deep No 6 - maybe John Stones but he left this morning.

"The strength of our players is to be mobile, and in modern-day football that is more of an advantage than a disadvantage. We have our ideas of how we will set up and you will hopefully see some glimpses of it tomorrow and against Serbia, and from there we will go.

"We have top players and we will find the right pairing. We have to be flexible because anything can happen, someone can be injured and it is not the moment to make a final decision for the World Cup."

Stones out of England squad through injury

Tuchel confirmed Stones has withdrawn from the England squad through injury and returned to Manchester City.

The 31-year-old has not added to his 83 caps since last October, and his first camp under Tuchel has come to a premature end.

The England boss said: "Unfortunately, John Stones just left. He came with minor issues, muscular issues, to camp and didn't progress as we thought and hoped he would.

"So, he left camp this morning (Friday) because we will not take the risk. Everyone else is available."

Tuchel said captain Harry Kane will lead the line for England as he names a strong line-up for the qualifier against Andorra.

England's midfield dilemma

Sky Sports News' Rob Dorsett at England's training ground:

The interesting thing is the midfield. He's still striving to find something in midfield.

We know that if he picks his strongest XI and everyone is fit, Jude Bellingham is No 10 and Declan Rice is No 8. There's no doubt about that. But he still has some issues in identifying who that defensive midfielder is.

He called up Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson for the first time to try and iron that problem out. Now Wharton is out with injury and he's called up Ruben Loftus-Cheek, so Anderson has a massive opportunity to try and stake a claim in this camp.

Tuchel made it clear to me he doesn't want to play Rice deeper. His role at Arsenal has developed over the years, he has been given a freedom that brings out the best in Rice. Tuchel has recognised that and he doesn't want to change or shackle him.

So playing Rice at No 6 again - I don't think that will happen.

Someone who could be that player - and England fans may not like it - is Jordan Henderson. That's why he keeps being picked by Tuchel. He is that experienced defensive midfielder.

You go back to [former France captain] Didier Deschamps - the 'water carrier' role. Every side, there has to be someone to do the dirty stuff. And maybe Henderson doesn't have the legs to get about the pitch as much, but for someone sitting in front of that defence he can definitely do that role.