As Thomas Tuchel prepares for the upcoming international fixtures, he can only hope that the players he will have at his disposal in May are in better shape than they are now in March.

The England manager is set to announce his squad for this month’s friendlies on Friday, but the pool of available talent is not as robust as he would have hoped. Many players are either dealing with injuries or struggling with form, a common challenge for any international coach.

Consider Phil Foden, who was enthusiastically brought back into the fold in November as a versatile talent capable of playing as a No. 8, 9, or 10. However, his recent role at Manchester City seems reflected more by his shirt number than his impact on the field. His potential inclusion—or lack thereof—presents one of the toughest decisions for Tuchel.

The choice between Foden and Cole Palmer is particularly intriguing. Palmer has found the net again recently, but has only scored twice from open play since Christmas. His performance has not matched the heights of previous seasons, and his statistics at Chelsea have been on a downward trend. Meanwhile, Foden hasn’t scored since the holiday period, despite Tuchel’s hopes of him playing a pivotal role alongside Harry Kane. Currently, Foden finds himself more on the sidelines under Pep Guardiola.

This midfield area, once perceived as England’s greatest strength, now seems less formidable. The abundance of talent has noticeably diminished over the past months.

Foden has not scored any type of goal since Christmas and spends most of his time now sat in a hole behind Pep Guardiola

Morgan Rogers, at Aston Villa, is seven games without a goal and has ran cold after a hot streak

Morgan Rogers, for instance, has gone seven games without scoring at Aston Villa, cooling off after a hot streak. Eberechi Eze is making strides at Arsenal, though his season has been inconsistent. Jude Bellingham has been sidelined with a serious hamstring injury since February 1. Morgan Gibbs-White may be performing well as a No. 10, yet he plays for a struggling Nottingham Forest and was overlooked last November, seemingly missing his World Cup opportunity.

To the left of them, Anthony Gordon will likely be Tuchel’s starter on the wing, but he is being reinvented as a striker at Newcastle. That, in truth, is a small mercy for the head coach, given he does not really fancy any of the other alternatives to Harry Kane. 

Gordon is set to be one of four Newcastle players in this squad – along with Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Dan Burn – but their morale would have taken a hit after Wednesday’s 7-2 humiliation at Barcelona, a match in which Marcus Rashford was only a late substitute. He has done fine in Spain, but nothing more.

On the other wing, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke are at least part of Arsenal’s feel-good charge for the Quadruple, but Saka is another with only two goals since the start of December. His form is not at the level it can and should be at. Tuchel likes Madueke, but he is often Saka’s understudy. 

Again, the pick on Premier League form could well be West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen. However, like Gibbs-White, he is involved in a relegation scrap. Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Tuchel’s starting No.6, is in this bracket too. See also Conor Gallagher at Tottenham.

The three who are playing in the top-flight’s form-table leaders, Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo, have had no indication yet that they’re in line for a recall. The feeling is that the door was as good as closed on bolters when Tuchel spoke repeatedly about continuity in the autumn.

But keeping the door shut at the World Cup will be the German’s biggest worry, given the current state of his defence. 

It is thought he has concerns over Nico O’Reilly – he started at left back in the final World Cup qualifier in Albania – now playing in midfield for Manchester City. 

Reece James, his favourite right back, has a hamstring injury and faces a battle to be fit before the end of the season. 

Reece James, Tuchel’s favourite right back, has a hamstring injury and faces a battle to be fit before the end of the season

Trent Alexander-Arnold now enters the reckoning, despite Tuchel’s doubts evidenced by his non-selection so far this season 

John Stones spends too much time sat next to Foden, while Ezri Konsa is part of Villa’s recent wobble. 

Djed Spence has been hit and miss amid Tottenham’s woes and Tuchel has reservations anyway after he ignored manager Thomas Frank when walking off the pitch earlier in the season. Tuchel did not like that. 

Myles Lewis-Skelly does not play enough at Arsenal. All of this leads to Hall and Livramento. The former is playing very well but has never featured under Tuchel for England, the latter has only just returned from injury.

Even Trent Alexander-Arnold now enters the reckoning, despite Tuchel’s doubts evidenced by his non-selection so far this season. Like Rashford, he has done OK in Spain. OK, however, will probably mean a KO when England meet decent opposition in the knockout rounds in North America.

At least there is Jordan Pickford, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice and Kane. That is the spine of Tuchel’s team and he must hope their backbone is strong, given the heavy lifting anticipated. 

Pickford and Kane, in particular, underline the fragility of England’s options. Were injury to befall either, the drop off to their deputies is scarily steep. Dean Henderson or an uncapped James Trafford in goal and Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke in attack. There has been talk in the past 24 hours of Dominic Calvert-Lewin – last cap in 2021 – being under consideration. Still looking forward to the summer?

Tuchel’s management has been smart and considered and the perfect record in qualifying left England in a good place when they departed Tirana four months ago. What has happened to his players since is beyond his control. He has, though, played the game with Premier League clubs by insisting that the forthcoming friendlies, against Uruguay and Japan, are played at Wembley and not abroad. 

He could do with those clubs returning some sort of favour by the time he names the squad that really matters.