Thomas Tuchel is hoping Bukayo Saka could start against Panama on Saturday but warned the Arsenal forward cannot solve England’s problems in attack on his own.
Saka made his second substitute appearance of the World Cup in the 0-0 draw with Ghana at Boston Stadium and added late impetus to England’s misfiring attack, although he could not find a breakthrough on a frustrating afternoon for Tuchel. The 24-year-old’s return from a nagging achilles injury has been managed carefully by Arsenal and England over recent weeks, with Saka saying last week that he was gambling on his fitness.
“He seems to be more and more ready, and will hopefully push, and then we will see what is coming,” Tuchel said. “He’s getting there, and there’s more and more training sessions, so he needs to have more sessions now. Two sessions to be ready for Panama. It’s not only about Bukayo but it was good he got some minutes under his belt. Hopefully there is no reaction and he is good to go.”
Tuchel was asked whether Saka is the kind of “big-game player” England need after a disappointing performance against Ghana when they managed only four shots on target.
“We need it from everyone,” the head coach said. “I’m not engaging in that. It’s not like Bukayo comes back and everything is solved, and I don’t want to put this on his back. He is a top player, that’s why he is with us. We need him desperately, like every other player, in top shape, and pushing. But everyone is doing their best, and it’s not the moment to shout for individual names to help us out. We’re in a good place, still.”
It is understood England are monitoring Declan Rice’s fitness after the midfielder was spotted with heavy strapping around his left calf as he left the stadium on Tuesday. Rice revealed last week that he had been managing neural pain in a hamstring since December but insisted he was “ready and fit”. England will also keep an eye on Reece James’s workload given the Chelsea defender’s recent injury history.
Tuchel is not expected to make wholesale changes against Panama, whom England thrashed 6-1 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia but who have twice lost 1-0 at this tournament. Nico O’Reilly could return at left-back in place of Djed Spence but Tuchel stressed the importance of continuity.
“I am not shy to do some rotation now,” he said. “Some players should be on the pitch but maybe it will be more moderate. It’s not always fair if you just rotate your players in and say: ‘OK, let’s perform.’ Let’s see. I like for example the centre-backs [against Ghana]. They were good together. I like Elliot Anderson, he had a step forward and a good performance, maybe a bit better than against Croatia.
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| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Ghana | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Croatia | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Panama | 2 | -2 | 0 |
“We created half-chances, we created deliveries and set plays but couldn’t score from it to change the characteristics of the game. I know it’s not an easy watch. Maybe I watch it differently from the sideline as a coach. I know what we wanted and what we had to take care of.”
England go into the Panama game top of the group on goal difference from Ghana and with a goals-scored advantage, by virtue of the 4-2 win against Croatia. Tuchel said: “There is a long way to go and no one has won a World Cup with four goals per match and going for it. We always want to go for it and our responsibility is to bring everything to the table. We tried and tried but it’s difficult sometimes and there is no need to feel negative.”