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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It seemed appropriate that much of England's uninspiring 2–0 victory over Panama played out in torrential rain, a symbolic nod to the storm cloud hanging over Thomas Tuchel and his players.
A capacity crowd at MetLife Stadium fell into prolonged silence on multiple occasions during Saturday's match, apparently bewildered that they had endured the miserable conditions to watch an England side kept scoreless for more than an hour by a team yet to record a win in North America this summer.
Just as Jude Bellingham lifted spirits in New Jersey with a goal, makeshift right back Jarell Quansah was forced off the field with what appeared to be an injury. A subsequent goal from Harry Kane helped fans momentarily forget, but the defender's long-term availability continues to cast a shadow over the Three Lions.
Should Quansah's injury prove serious enough to sideline him for the round of 32 and beyond, Tuchel will face a full-blown crisis—one largely of his own making.
The Least Surprising Surprise
On the eve of England's group stage finale, Tuchel confirmed that Reece James had sustained a hamstring injury and would be unavailable on Saturday. The right back is set to miss a minimum of two weeks, effectively ruling him out of the team's opening knockout fixtures.
"No one could see that coming," Tuchel said. Except everyone could see it coming.
In the past three years alone, James has been sidelined with hamstring problems on six separate occasions. He underwent surgery at the close of 2023, yet the recurring issues never fully went away. And that doesn't even account for the other fitness setbacks he endured—setbacks Tuchel witnessed firsthand during his tenure at Chelsea.
In fact, when the manager took charge at Stamford Bridge in January 2021, James was only just returning from a hamstring-related absence. The Englishman then missed a substantial portion of the 2020–21 season's final stretch with a similar complaint, along with a muscular problem.
Five years on, little has changed. James was sidelined for nearly two months late in the 2025–26 campaign with a hamstring injury, and arrived at the 2026 World Cup without having played consecutive matches since March.
What happened the moment he did? Another hamstring injury. To virtually nobody's surprise, England were already in need of a backup right back after just two tournament matches. And their best alternative—one of the finest right backs on the planet—is watching from home.
Tuchel's Stubborn Choices Leave England Counting the Cost
Tuchel raised eyebrows when he omitted Trent Alexander-Arnold from the March international break squad. The call was puzzling, though not entirely shocking given that the 27-year-old had only recently returned from an extended injury layoff the previous month.
The real concern emerged when Tuchel left Alexander-Arnold out of his 26-man World Cup squad entirely. The decision followed a strong finish to the fullback's debut season at Real Madrid, where he performed to his highest level in both the Champions League and La Liga once fully fit.
Alexander-Arnold's resurgent form—or his distinguished record with England and Liverpool—was not enough to earn him a place in Tuchel's plans for North America. The manager instead placed his faith in James as first-choice right back, with Tino Livramento serving as cover.
However, Livramento was forced to withdraw from the tournament before England's opening game due to a calf injury. Tuchel had the ideal chance to correct his error and bring in Alexander-Arnold as a replacement, but instead opted to call up center back Trevoh Chalobah.
Now, with the weight of an entire nation's expectations on his squad selections, Tuchel deployed natural center back Quansah at right back against Panama.
Quansah's Audition Ends in Disaster
Despite limited experience in the right back role, Quansah acquitted himself reasonably well against Panama. The Bayer Leverkusen defender misplaced only five passes and was defensively sound during his 63 minutes on the pitch.
There were no glaring errors or alarming moments until he departed with an injury. But what happens when Quansah is not up against José Luis Rodríguez, who entered the match with just two goals in 2026? What happens when he faces Brazil's Vinicius Junior or France's Désiré Doué?
Of course, if Quansah faces a spell on the sidelines, Tuchel will be forced to turn to Djed Spence or Ezri Konsa, options that inspire little confidence when pitted against some of the world's most dangerous wingers.
Furthermore, all three players offer minimal creativity to an attack desperately seeking invention against organized defenses. Quansah has just three assists to his name across his entire senior career for club and country. Fellow natural center back Konsa has only two in top-flight football and one for England.
Spence is the most attack-minded of the options, but his best work typically comes from the left flank. It is difficult to envision any of them unlocking a deep defensive block in a knockout fixture.
There's No Excuse for Tuchel's Alexander-Arnold Snub
They say hindsight is 20/20, but no hindsight was required to recognize the magnitude of Tuchel's error in overlooking Alexander-Arnold. It was a mistake the day he announced his World Cup squad, a mistake when he passed him over again in favor of Chalobah, and a mistake now that James and potentially Quansah are both injured.
Yes, Alexander-Arnold's defensive vulnerabilities are well-documented. He can be exposed against elite wingers when a covering center back is not in position to protect the space he vacates.
Those concerns are legitimate, and Tuchel could easily have still named James as his starter while including Alexander-Arnold in the squad. Yet the manager deemed it preferable to have a two-time Premier League champion and Real Madrid star watching from his sofa while a collection of inferior players rotate through the right back position on football's biggest stage.
There appeared to be little contingency planning for an injury crisis, and scant regard for Alexander-Arnold's extraordinary right foot. His delivery from set pieces, his precise long-range passing and his vision in the final third make him an invaluable asset to have available at the very least from the bench when the situation demands.
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
Had Alexander-Arnold featured against Ghana or Panama, England might have managed more than a single open-play goal across 180 minutes of football. The right back is a specialist at dismantling low blocks and a world-class creative force who could undoubtedly have added another dimension to the Three Lions' attack.
But due to a short-sighted call from Tuchel, England are now left making the best of a wholly avoidable situation in their bid for a second World Cup title—a bid their own manager has made considerably harder than it needed to be.