England completed a successful 2025 in enormously predictable fashion.<\/p>\n
Another couple of wins. Another couple of clean sheets. Another couple of Harry Kane goals that don\u2019t count<\/strong><\/a>. Another Daily Mail hatchet job on Jude Bellingham<\/strong><\/a>. Just your bog-standard international break for England these days.<\/p>\n We already knew before it they\u2019d be off to the World Cup<\/strong><\/a>, but are we any clearer now as to which specific players will be doing so?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the latest all-important F365 England Ladder, with October\u2019s rankings in brackets \u2013 you can read the full thing here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n As ever, the rules of the Ladder are that this is not our ranking, but our best guess at what we think Thomas Tuchel is thinking. And he can be a tricky fella to read, sometimes, but we do think we\u2019re starting to get a clearer idea now of what makes him tick.<\/p>\n Which only makes it funnier just how far off the mark huge swathes of this will be by March.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 1) Harry Kane (1)<\/p>\n The easy part of the Ladder is still easy. We\u2019re not even pretending to shuffle him down to two or three just to feel alive. He is still England\u2019s most important and least-challenged player.<\/p>\n Even when Thomas Tuchel made a bunch of changes for the dead rubber against Albania, Harry Kane remained. Even when Thomas Tuchel made a bunch of second-half substitutions in the dead rubber against Albania, Harry Kane remained. And then scored the two late goals to complete the flawless qualification campaign. Because that is simply what Harry Kane does.<\/p>\n He now has more international goals than Pele (without scoring a single one that counts<\/strong><\/a>), and his next England goal will lift him into the top 10 all-time for men\u2019s international goals, level with Neymar and just behind Ferenc Puskas. Joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the legendary Ali Daei in the 100 club is now very, very possible.<\/p>\n With Ollie Watkins struggling for form and fitness and absolutely nobody else seemingly even in the frame, it\u2019s even now possible that Kane winds up the only specialist No. 9 in Thomas Tuchel\u2019s squad, with your Marcus Rashfords and Phil Fodens and the Cole Palmers of this world providing potential back up as nines of varying degrees of falseness. Tuchel himself described such a scenario as \u2018possible\u2019 but unlikely.<\/p>\n And, of course, even describing Kane as a \u2018specialist No. 9\u2019 is to traduce one of the world\u2019s very best players, who is also a more than handy No. 10, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 8.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit of a shame he went in goal that time for Spurs in the Lamela Rabona game and answered the question of whether he could play there too with such an emphatic \u2018no\u2019, because otherwise we\u2019d strongly suspect he could.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 2) Declan Rice (2)<\/p>\n His usual serene, game-running self in the win over Serbia, but was one of several players left slightly discombobulated by Thomas Tuchel\u2019s experimental approach<\/strong><\/a> to the first half in Albania.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve absolutely no problem with anything Tuchel tried in that first half \u2013 if not then, when? \u2013 and even the 3-2-2-3\u2019s near total failure to launch taught the manager and us something useful. And equally we\u2019re not really perturbed by the players struggling to get to grips with it.<\/p>\n This was an experiment Tuchel justifiably felt able to implement because things were going so well; it will only be seen again if things are going so wrong.<\/p>\n Rice was back to his usual self in the more familiar shape deployed in the second half, and remains as indelibly inked-in and integral as ever.<\/p>\n Mandatory comment here about set-piece delivery and its potential outsized importance for the nitty-gritty of a major tournament.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 3) Jordan Pickford (3)<\/p>\n Kept another facile clean sheet in the first qualifier of the break, taking his personal clean sheet streak for England to 10 games since the 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley in October last year.<\/p>\n Thomas Tuchel still hasn\u2019t seen Pickford pick the ball out of his net in any England game he\u2019s managed, which is a daftness no matter the level of opposition.<\/p>\n Amusingly, the almost sarcastically under-employed Pickford was then rested for the final qualifier in Albania, and got to sit back and watch Dean Henderson have more to do in that one game than he\u2019d had in the previous seven combined.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 4) John Stones (5)<\/p>\n It was a while before Tuchel was able to call on Stones, but since then he\u2019s been a fixture in the side and that tells you something.<\/p>\n There are still some who argue he\u2019s in a three-way battle for two starting spots with Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, but we\u2019re increasingly convinced that pair are fighting to start alongside Stones.<\/p>\n Whatever the truth of it, those three are now head and shoulders clear of anyone else in the centre-back conversation.<\/p>\n Tuchel had spoken before about Stones\u2019 midfield potential, and it was interesting \u2013 if not particularly successful \u2013 to see him try it out in that final game against Albania.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 5) Bukayo Saka (4)<\/p>\n Lovely goal against Serbia to deliver on a direct request for more goal contributions, and then came off the bench to set up the opener for Kane in Albania in what was a slightly curious half-hour cameo that featured one odd decision to try and tee up a team-mate when another goal appeared certain had he gone for it himself.<\/p>\n Either way, still absolutely no reason to doubt he\u2019s a certain starter on the right of England\u2019s attack if all things are equal next June, despite the estimable competition provided by Noni Madueke<\/strong><\/a> and Jarrod Bowen. Both are enormously capable, neither is in Saka\u2019s class.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 6) Elliot Anderson (6)<\/p>\n The speed with which Elliot Anderson has become the undisputed first choice in what was one of England\u2019s problem positions alongside Declan Rice is pretty extraordinary. It really is only something that\u2019s come about across this season\u2019s three international breaks.<\/p>\n Quietly impeccable again against Serbia at Wembley, and even earned (most of) a night off in Albania as Adam Wharton got his chance to impress.<\/p>\n As ever, the Ladder is our estimation of the England manager\u2019s position on players and when he talks we listen.<\/p>\n \u201cElliot and Declan are at the moment ahead in midfield. They are a very good pair, and they complement each other very well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We cannot argue with that, and have no desire to do so.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 7) Jude Bellingham (12)<\/p>\n Tuchel couldn\u2019t help but \u2013 in our view unnecessarily<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 stir the pot with a bit of an OTT reaction to Bellingham\u2019s pretty standard frustration<\/strong><\/a> at being substituted late on in Tirana, but the fact he got that start, the fact he was so eye-catching even when not at his best and, most importantly, the fact he is simply a better footballer than Morgan Rogers means we do now have just about enough evidence that when it comes to it and the real business begins next summer, Jude Bellingham will be England\u2019s No. 10.<\/p>\n It really is no slight on Rogers to suggest that by next summer the idea that six months earlier it was even a meaningful debate at all will look a bit odd.<\/p>\n Still, though, this is based on what we think Tuchel is thinking and we\u2019re still not entirely sure he\u2019s as convinced this is a closed conversation as we are, so Bellingham\u2019s upward movement remains conservative for now.<\/p>\n But Bellingham is a generational talent and Tuchel absolutely knows this. Sorry, Daily Mail, there really aren\u2019t \u2018serious questions over his World Cup inclusion\u2019<\/strong><\/a> no matter how much that boils your hateful acrid p*ss.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 8) Reece James (7)<\/p>\n The eighth player we believe to be inked in to England\u2019s starting XI for June, and the only reason he isn\u2019t three or four places higher up the list is that even with the Ladder\u2019s usual rules about assuming everyone is injury-free, we simply cannot even comprehend a universe where Reece James is reliably injury-free.<\/p>\n Which is really bloody annoying actually, because he\u2019s entirely and reliably excellent in every other way.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 9) Anthony Gordon (9)<\/p>\n Must have feared the worst when ruled out of this break through injury, but two things are true.<\/p>\n First, when given the opportunity to select Gordon, Tuchel has generally selected Gordon.<\/p>\n And second, neither Marcus Rashford against Serbia nor Eberechi Eze against Albania did enough to really suggest they can rip the starting shirt away from the Newcastle man.<\/p>\n Also, when you think about it, the fact both Eze (against Serbia) and Rashford (against Albania) were far more impressive when coming off the bench to make a late impact only strengthens Gordon\u2019s case to be the starter out of that trio.<\/p>\n As far as missed international breaks through injury go, that was an absolute belter for Gordon. The team didn\u2019t suffer any unpleasant consequences whatsoever, but nor did anything happen to remotely diminish his own standing and prospects. You\u2019ll take that in the middle of such a busy season.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 10) Marc Guehi (7)<\/p>\n Like Gordon, he was missing from this camp, and like Gordon it probably hasn\u2019t done him too much harm.<\/p>\n We thought he was in a straight fight with Ezri Konsa to start alongside John Stones, and we still think that after watching Konsa look very good against Serbia and Dan Burn look\u2026not so good against Albania.<\/p>\n At the very, very least his place in that group of top three centre-back options hasn\u2019t been challenged, with Burn having a rough time and Jarell Quansah finally getting a debut but getting it in a weird and confusing right-back\/right-centre-back-of-three hybrid role that didn\u2019t really give him the best foundations upon which to attempt a bit of claim-staking.<\/p>\n We think Tuchel slightly favours Guehi over Konsa, and don\u2019t think we\u2019re doing that thing where we project our own instincts on to the manager. Either way, if the sort of selection debate we\u2019re worried about when the World Cup comes around is \u2018Guehi or Konsa\u2019 we will sleep easy in our beds knowing we don\u2019t much care either way because it\u2019s going to be absolutely fine. Given some of the scenarios we\u2019ve had before, this one feels like extremely small beer.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 11) Nico O\u2019Reilly (26)<\/p>\n One of the key things we\u2019ve learned about Tuchel thus far is that when you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in until you\u2019re not. He\u2019s already made it a feature of his selection methods as an international manager \u2013 worth remembering this is all new to him as well \u2013 that players who do the job for him will not be replaced just because some bigger or shinier name comes back in the fold.<\/p>\n One exception to this, we think, is at left-back<\/strong><\/a>. It\u2019s the one position where it feels like Tuchel really is still experimenting because he needs to, rather than resting players because he can or adapting to the availability picture in front of him.<\/p>\n As such, we\u2019re not quite willing to say that Nico O\u2019Reilly\u2019s pair of wonderfully assured performances in that position in this break have cemented his place. But it does now feel like his shirt to lose, even if that is pretty harsh on Djed Spence \u2013 who was exemplary on both flanks in October.<\/p>\n Does feel like there\u2019s still a fight here, though, one that your Lewis Halls and Myles Lewis-Skellys may yet have their say in as well.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 12) Ezri Konsa (13)<\/p>\n Had one particularly eye-catching moment when marshalling Dusan Vlahovic expertly against Serbia and as we\u2019ve already said, we think he\u2019s in a pretty close scrap with Marc Guehi to partner John Stones, and we are extremely comfortable with whichever way that particular cookie crumbles.<\/p>\n His ability to do a very tidy job at right-back might, in a weird way, hurt his starting chances; in a major tournament you might not want to risk having to separate your starting centre-back pairing because Reece James is injured again.<\/p>\n But that versatility absolutely locks down a squad place. We\u2019re still very much in \u2018on the plane\u2019 territory here.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 13) Morgan Rogers (10)<\/p>\n Slips outside the starting XI now, we think. Is unlucky really to have Bellingham as his direct competition, and may eventually suffer from offering less squad-building versatility than other players who could potentially play at 10 but also offer options out wide, like Eberechi Eze or Cole Palmer or even Phil Foden.<\/p>\n But he\u2019s played better for England in that 10 role than any of those lads, and we know Tuchel values that enormously highly. He can have no complaints about anything Rogers has done for him, and while it wouldn\u2019t enter our heads to do so it still wouldn\u2019t entirely surprise us to see Rogers\u2019 name on that starting team-sheet in seven months.<\/p>\n As ever when discussing Rogers v Bellingham, we\u2019re aware we can come off quite disparaging to the Villa man. We don\u2019t mean to be. He\u2019s excellent, we would be entirely unconcerned if England need to use him in tournament conditions. He played in every single game of what was a uniquely successful qualifying campaign for England.<\/p>\n He\u2019s just not Jude Bellingham.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 14) Dean Henderson (21)<\/p>\n Had a busier game against Albania than Pickford has had against anyone in an England shirt this year, but for Henderson that\u2019s probably a blessing. He actually got the chance to show Tuchel what he can do after being one of the players to suffer in the Senegal game, and kept a clean sheet that was nothing like the formality of so many of Pickford\u2019s.<\/p>\n There were smart saves and some good decision-making from Henderson. Nothing that has any chance of unseating Pickford as No. 1, of course, but the Albania game has absolutely solidified Henderson\u2019s claim on first-reserve status, with James Trafford simply not playing any football and Nick Pope unfortunately ruled out after a hard-earned recall.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 15) Jordan Henderson (14)<\/p>\n If you\u2019d told us a couple of years back that Jordan Henderson would be a Thomas Tuchel regular for England with a significant and clearly-defined role at his big age we\u2019d have been so alarmed we probably wouldn\u2019t even have registered our surprise at Thomas Tuchel being England manager.<\/p>\n Now, though? We\u2019re fine with it. He brings experience and leadership to the squad and his role within the squad is clear; he\u2019s maybe fourth or fifth choice to actually start in central midfield, but absolutely first-choice sub to come on in there when there\u2019s a job that must be done.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 16) Marcus Rashford (18)<\/p>\n Still seems like a straight fight between him and Anthony Gordon to start on the left for England and while it would be no surprise to see Rashford continuing to deliver the more eye-catching contributions at club level, where all his problems really do seem to have been solved by the one neat trick of simply joining one of the biggest football clubs on earth, we know how high a value Tuchel places on the work people have done specifically for him.<\/p>\n And, given the opportunity in this window by Gordon\u2019s injury setback, we\u2019re just not sure Rashford did quite enough to shift the needle on the starting XI. Especially when he actually strengthened the idea that his best contributions might come from the bench by having his best contributions come against Albania, from the bench.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 17) Eberechi Eze (15)<\/p>\n Brilliant cameo from the bench against Serbia, drab performance from the start against Albania. Not sure exactly where that leaves us or more specifically Eze really, but overall probably roughly back where we started, which is: brilliantly talented, game-changing bench option anywhere across the attack but probably not really in serious contention for any starting position.<\/p>\n We\u2019re okay with it. Worth noting also that Eze, with three goals, was the only person not called Harry Kane to score more than once for England during this qualifying campaign<\/strong><\/a>. Feels like that definitely ought to count for something.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 18) Noni Madueke (17)<\/p>\n We know Tuchel is a big Madueke guy, to the extent that if we take him at his word he wouldn\u2019t even have recalled Bukayo Saka in October had Madueke not been injured himself.<\/p>\n It makes him among the harder players to place in this Ladder, but we do think the only real option at this time is to go with Tuchel\u2019s confirmed high opinion of a player who should be back fit and firing by the time the next squad comes around in March.<\/p>\n Before his injury, Madueke was statistically perhaps the most important non-Kane attacker for England during this qualifying campaign, leading the way in both chances created per 90 and dribbles per 90<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Second on both those metrics? Look away, Daily Mail, but it was that awful prick Jude Bellingham.<\/p>\n But back to Madueke, it feels certain to us that Tuchel will at least give him a chance to reassert his claims to be at least first reserve on that right-hand side come March, and we\u2019d be pretty confident at that stage that he would take that chance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 19) Ollie Watkins (16)<\/p>\n Even further away from rivalling Kane for a starting spot than ever before \u2013 it really is mad to think now how the sight of Watkins replacing a lumpen and grimly ineffective Kane at the Euros was a source of such joy \u2013 but now finds his squad place under threat.<\/p>\n Not from any other striker \u2013 don\u2019t worry, Ollie, there aren\u2019t any of those \u2013 but from the slim possibility that Tuchel might not bother with one at all.<\/p>\n Given the paucity of the back-up options, sadly now up to and including Watkins himself, the magnificence of Kane and the multi-faceted nature of England\u2019s great many other attacking talents, it becomes a tempting option.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have another No. 9 you\u2019d really trust, but you do have, say, Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford and Cole Palmer, do you really need another No. 9 in there for the sake of it?<\/p>\n We do still kind of think that in a 26-man squad the answer is probably \u2018Yes, don\u2019t be silly, we do still need another proper striker\u2019.<\/p>\n Tuchel sees it similarly, having said he will likely pick another \u2018classic number nine\u2019. That keeps Watkins above the 26-man cutline for now, but even the fact Tuchel is talking about the possibility of not having one, and pointedly refusing to dismiss the idea altogether (\u201cI cannot rule out that we go with one striker, but it\u2019s more likely we have more than one classic number nine\u201d) while also not specifically mentioning Watkins by name mean it\u2019s looking dicier than it probably should for someone with literally no meaningful competition at this time.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 20) Phil Foden (33)<\/p>\n Back in the fold and given a couple of different roles in the Serbia and Albania games as Tuchel tries to succeed where others have failed and unlock Foden\u2019s obvious talents in an England setting.<\/p>\n We do like the false nine option deployed against Serbia; anything that reduces the need for unnecessary spare Kane back-ups in the squad in favour of more versatile players is to be encouraged.<\/p>\n The collective will for Foden to show what he can do for England perhaps led to be a bit of an over-reaction to his assist for Eberechi Eze\u2019s goal \u2013 described in at least one place as \u2018putting it on a plate\u2019 for the Arsenal playmaker. But we\u2019re not having it as the easy-peasy straightforward pass some naysayers have insisted it was on the other side of the debate.<\/p>\n One of the advantages of having skilled finishers in creative positions is they know exactly what pass they would want to receive if roles were reversed, and Foden\u2019s pass to Eze was exactly that. Perfect weight, perfect line, so that Eze didn\u2019t have to break stride and a difficult finish was made as easy as it could be.<\/p>\n Against Albania, we even got a brief glimpse of the Foden-Bellingham-Kane triangle Tuchel had previously dismissed as impossible. So there\u2019s definitely hope.<\/p>\n It still feels like at least one ludicrously talented attacking player is going to miss out when Tuchel\u2019s final 26 is named, but it\u2019s less likely now than it was a fortnight ago for Foden\u2019s to be that name.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 21) Dan Burn (24)<\/p>\n Appears to be fourth-choice centre-back. As sanguine as we are about the first three centre-backs, this fills us with some kind of dread.<\/p>\n We would really very much like something more compelling and bit less cumbersome to make itself known by March, please and thank you.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a good lad is Burn, and it\u2019s been a great story. But we really don\u2019t think he\u2019s good enough, and he\u2019s now the one player we\u2019ve got inside the 26-man cutline about whom we have those kind of deep-lying fears.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 22) Cole Palmer (20)<\/p>\n Time is running out and others are making strong claims for all sorts of roles within England\u2019s attack. As we\u2019ve said time and again elsewhere, there are simply more excellent attacking players available to Tuchel than squad positions for them all and someone deserving of a place \u2013 probably multiple someones \u2013 is going to miss out.<\/p>\n And there is a real risk that Palmer, who has played only 64 minutes for England under Tuchel in their least convincing performance (the 1-0 win over Andorra), is such a someone.<\/p>\n Probably not. Still probably not. On balance, his ability and versatility still probably tip the scales far enough his way. Especially if he can recover sufficient goalscoring touch to convince Tuchel he can offer a meaningful option as the focus of England\u2019s attack rather as well as one of its support riders.<\/p>\n Does feel quite mad to be talking about someone we tried and failed to squeeze into the F365 England starting XI<\/strong><\/a> perhaps missing out on the squad altogether, but that\u2019s the level of competition.<\/p>\n There will, inevitably, be stuff in here that looks absolutely mental come March. Because that\u2019s four months away, and there\u2019s stuff that looks mental from one Ladder to the next when there\u2019s only one month between them.<\/p>\n But we really hope \u2018Palmer might not even make the squad\u2019 is one of the things that looks really crazy by March.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 23) Djed Spence (11)<\/p>\n A touch overpromoted in October on the back of our desire for neatness and trying to make the first 11 names on the ladder represent an actual starting XI, but despite being a non-playing member of the squad in this break he doesn\u2019t fall too far.<\/p>\n Tuchel\u2019s obvious dislike of Spence\u2019s infamous Thomas Frank snub after the Chelsea game felt a bit OTT and quite schoolmasterly to us \u2013 and also quite funny given Tuchel\u2019s own history with handshakes at the end of games between Chelsea and Tottenham \u2013 but can\u2019t be ignored either given the Ladder\u2019s remit.<\/p>\n But we still think Tuchel values Spence\u2019s pure defensive ability as a full-back with tough major tournament tests in mind. He might not be first choice or even necessarily first reserve on either flank, but we\u2019d still be surprised to see him left out altogether because he does offer that one-on-one ability to nullify the best, and that\u2019s a powerful weapon to have in the arsenal for a player who is also perfectly capable of starting any game at full-back on either flank.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 24) Tino Livramento (19)<\/p>\n Could return to Newcastle this weekend after missing their last nine games through injury, and no specialist has staked much of a claim to be the second right-back in the squad.<\/p>\n Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa and Jarell Quansah have all been used there in addition to obvious first choice Reece James, and that can\u2019t do Livramento any harm.<\/p>\n And while Spence in particular offers a solid defensive option on that right-hand side, we\u2019re still not sure you\u2019d really want to be picking a 26-man squad in which Reece \u2018Darren Anderton\u2019 James is your only specialist right-back.<\/p>\n Livramento, despite his own recent injury struggles, hasn\u2019t really been usurped at all in the fight to be that second specialist right-back.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 25) Adam Wharton (29)<\/p>\n We\u2019ve desperately wanted to put him higher and higher in the Ladder but couldn\u2019t because it\u2019s the England manager\u2019s Ladder, not ours. And for some inexplicable reason, we are not the England manager.<\/p>\n We really do think Wharton, with his vision and line-breaking passing ability is the kind of high-risk, high-reward player you want in a tournament squad. There\u2019s a make-something-happen quality to him that doesn\u2019t really show itself in stats or data. He\u2019s an old-school player who absolutely has to be watched to be appreciated.<\/p>\n A bit unfortunate to get his chance in an experimental formation, one that confused more experienced international minds than his, but still did well even when often finding himself as a pretty isolated single-pivot in England\u2019s midfield.<\/p>\n Tuchel acknowledged as much after the Albania game, while also stressing that isolation was not Wharton\u2019s fault. We\u2019ve heard enough: Tuchel likes him, up the list he goes to join Rice, Anderson and Henderson among Tuchel\u2019s World Cup midfield options.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 26) James Trafford (25)<\/p>\n Lucky to get a reprieve and find himself in this squad with Nick Pope suffering cruel injury timing, and for now that means, with the clock ticking and only one more England camp before final squad choices are made, we\u2019re leaning towards Tuchel sticking with what he knows for such a low-key position as third-choice keeper.<\/p>\n But if by March Pope is playing well for Newcastle and Trafford is still riding the bench at Man City, he can have few complaints if he loses even that bench-warming position for his country.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 27) Jarrod Bowen (22)<\/p>\n\n