Thomas Tuchel explains why he did not use Bukayo Saka in the match against Croatia
Thomas Tuchel made important decisions for England's opening World Cup match against Croatia, especially not using Bukayo Saka even though he was ready to play.
Tonight, England begin their World Cup journey with a match against Croatia at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington. Coach Thomas Tuchel has made four important decisions in the starting lineup. One of the most surprising decisions was that he did not use Bukayo Saka, even though the Arsenal player had recovered from injury and confirmed that he was "ready" before the match. Instead, Tuchel decided to use Saka's teammate at Arsenal, Noni Madueke, on the right wing, keeping the same team that had performed well in the previous friendly against Costa Rica. This also meant that Anthony Gordon was chosen to replace Marcus Rashford on the left wing, while John Stones combined with Ezri Konsa in the center of defense, with Marc Guehi starting the match from the bench. Tuchel has also decided to let Jude Bellingham take on the England number 10 position, after much debate before the tournament surrounding the competition between him and Morgan Rogers for the position. Speaking to ITV before the match, Tuchel explained his decisions, specifically not playing Saka and choosing Bellingham. "It was a very difficult decision between Bellingham and Rogers," Tuchel admitted. "In the end, we decided to keep the squad that started well against Costa Rica. Both players deserved to play, and we will have to make those decisions. "Bukayo Saka had a great training session yesterday and deserved to be in the starting lineup, but we could not start and finish the match with 11 players. We need a strong bench and to have players who can influence and change the game from the bench, that's important." Tuchel was also asked about Bellingham's level of preparation after the midfielder struggled to regain his best form at Real Madrid this season and whether his previous experience of playing in major tournaments gives him an advantage over Rogers. "He looks very sharp and happy to be on the field," Tuchel explained. "No, major league experience was not the deciding factor in my choice, because you could say Morgan also has no experience but is very ready to play. No, it was a 50/50 decision and the final choice was up to Jude." When asked how it felt to finally kick off his World Cup campaign, Tuchel said: "It's fantastic, it's something we've been preparing for and that's been the aim of the whole training camp, to be ready. We don't want to be anywhere else, I don't want to be anywhere else in the world but here. Let's get started!
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