England have suffered a fresh injury blow, with Jarell Quansah forced off during the final group match against Panama. The former Liverpool defender is now a new concern for Thomas Tuchel after stepping in for Reece James at right‑back. Quansah, who started the match, was unable to continue after committing a foul and required treatment on the pitch early in the second half. The 23‑year‑old was seen limping off as Djed Spence came on in his place.
Quansah received a yellow card for the challenge on Panama’s Jose Luis Rodriguez, but that will be the least of Thomas Tuchel’s concerns given his already‑extensive injury list at full‑back. Spence is now the only full-back on the right, despite being utilised on the left side.
James isn’t expected to be fit until after the knockout stages, creating another headache for the Three Lions boss. Tino Livramento was previously ruled out after suffering an injury before even kicking a ball in the United States.
Tuchel opted to call up Chelsea centre‑back Trevoh Chalobah as Livramento’s replacement. Concerns have been raised about Quansah playing out of position, with Gary Neville highlighting before the match: “The one position I think I am pretty qualified to speak on is right back and if you had said to me a couple of months ago that Quansah would be playing right-back for England in a tournament, I would say something has gone badly wrong.
“He’s picked Reece James and Livramento, players who are injury prone. He’s not brought Trent Alexander-Arnold, who obvously is someone with world class quality, for what reasons we can only imagine. That is where we are right now, England will win this group and win this game but there is some turbulence in there.”
Much has been made of the artificial surface at the MetLife Stadium in New York, which offers little protection when it comes to preventing injuries.
Arsenal and France defender William Saliba previously said of the pitch: “I must admit I was a bit surprised by the state of the pitch for the first match in New York. They even asked us whether we wanted to play with moulded studs or screwed-in studs, which is unusual as I only play with screwed-in studs, being a defender.
“In the end, I preferred to play with screwed-in studs, but it’s clear the pitch was more like artificial turf and it was very hard, but that was that. Once we’re there, we’ve got no choice. We have to play, and it’s the same pitch for both teams. But it’s clear the pitch wasn’t great.”
Saliba’s comments should have served as a warning for England.
The Three Lions went on to win the match 2–0 to move top of Group L, with Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scoring the goals.