Tuchel Faces Setback as England Prepares for Nations League
Thomas Tuchel’s plans for England’s return to top-tier Nations League football have been ripped up before a ball has even been kicked.
Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento have all withdrawn injured, forcing the head coach into a late reshuffle and emergency call-ups for James Garner and Morgan Gibbs‑White.
Tuchel’s new cycle starts with a setback
This was supposed to be a clean start. On Friday, Tuchel had rolled out a refreshed squad for the beginning of a new two-year international cycle that will run through to Euro 2028. A recall for Palmer was one of the headline decisions, a nod to the Chelsea midfielder’s electric start to the season and a sign that Tuchel wanted to lean into form.
England are back in the Nations League’s top division and open against Spain at Wembley on Saturday. Trips to the Czech Republic and Croatia follow, before the Czechs come to Wembley later in the group. It was a demanding schedule even before the withdrawals began to stack up.
Then the injuries hit.
Palmer, central to Tuchel’s attacking blueprint for this window, has been ruled out with a minor muscle problem. It is not serious, but serious enough that he has made himself unavailable. For a player trying to re-establish his place in the national setup, the timing is brutal.
The 24-year-old has been almost ever-present for Chelsea this season, already on four goals and two assists in all competitions. Yet he has only three England appearances under Tuchel, having missed the World Cup after his form dipped late last term. The coach had framed this camp as a fresh chance. That opportunity now goes back on ice.
Rice managed, then removed
Rice’s absence lands with less shock but just as much significance. His workload has been relentless for years and the signs of strain have been there.
The Arsenal midfielder had to nurse a nerve issue in his hamstring towards the end of last season, a problem that spread into his lower back and troubled him during the World Cup. He has started every Premier League game for Arsenal this season and their Champions League opener against Napoli. At some point, something had to give.
This is that point. Player and staff have agreed that rest is the smartest option, even with Spain looming and England’s midfield suddenly looking thin.
Mainoo’s frustration grows
Mainoo’s withdrawal carries a different kind of sting. He came off after 80 minutes in Manchester United’s win at Fulham on Sunday, a substitution that drew boos from the away end for manager Michael Carrick. The concern was justified: the midfielder has now pulled out of the England squad.
His international story under Tuchel has been stop-start at best. Mainoo made the World Cup squad but did not play a single minute, the only outfield player with that fate. Tuchel has insisted that omission was tactical, not a judgment on Mainoo’s quality or attitude, and had publicly vowed to give him minutes in this window.
Instead, those promised minutes disappear into the treatment room.
Rashford blow for a long-time backer
Rashford’s situation adds another layer to Tuchel’s selection headache. The forward was substituted in the 77th minute at Craven Cottage and walked off slowly, clutching the front of his hip. Any hope that it was precautionary has gone with his withdrawal from the squad.
Tuchel has long been one of Rashford’s firmest advocates. He called him up in his first England squad in March last year, at a time when the 28-year-old’s club form had dipped, and has picked him whenever fitness allowed.
That trust did wobble during the World Cup. Rashford struggled in the last-32 tie against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tuchel’s faith appeared to crack. Minutes dried up. Rashford barely featured again until England’s semi-final defeat by Argentina, when he came on in stoppage time, and then started only the first half of the third-place playoff against France.
Even so, Rashford remained a central figure in Tuchel’s thinking. Losing him now strips England of a proven international forward just as the competitive calendar ramps up again.
Livramento’s luckless run continues
Livramento’s international journey has been no smoother. Named in the World Cup squad, he suffered a calf injury in training on the eve of the tournament and had to fly home. Surgery followed.
The Newcastle full-back finally returned as a substitute against Bournemouth earlier this month, only to suffer a setback in training before their win over Hull on Saturday. He missed that match and, still yet to start a game this season, has now been ruled out of England duty again.
For a player seen as a long-term option in the wide defensive roles, it is another cruel interruption.
New faces, new roles
Tuchel has moved quickly to patch the holes. Garner comes in as a central midfield option, effectively covering the double blow of losing Rice and Mainoo. The Everton man will know this is a rare opening in a congested area of the pitch.
Gibbs‑White, meanwhile, is drafted in to ease the creative burden at No 10 in Palmer’s absence. Tuchel still has Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze to operate between the lines, but Gibbs‑White’s inclusion underlines the coach’s desire to keep that position well stocked with technicians and risk-takers.
England will still walk out at Wembley on Saturday with star power and expectation. What they will not have is the squad Tuchel mapped out when he began this new cycle.
How quickly this patched-up group adapts to the demands of Spain, and then hostile away nights in Prague and Zagreb, may tell us plenty about what England’s next era under Tuchel is really built on.
