Thomas Tuchel has plenty to ponder as England begin their latest Nations League campaign against World Cup winners Spain at Wembley tonight.

Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento all withdrew from the Three Lions squad earlier this week, leading to late call-ups for James Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White.

All 24 members of Tuchel’s revised squad were involved in Thursday’s session at Tottenham’s training ground in Enfield. On Wednesday, at St George’s Park, the only absentee was Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall.

England Under-19 internationals Kaden Braithwaite - of Manchester City - and Tottenham’s Malachi Hardy were on Wednesday invited by Tuchel to join in with the seniors’ training session to help boost numbers.

Tuchel will be expected to go as strong as possible for the visit of Spain to Wembley on Saturday night, with three more games to come in Group A3 during this extended three-week international break, including two matches against the Czech Republic and a trip to Croatia.

The recalled Trent Alexander-Arnold is the only natural right-back in the squad, but Tuchel could call on versatile Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jarell Quansah in the position if he wants more defensive solidity.

“I will not tell you, of course,” Tuchel said on Friday when asked whether Alexander-Arnold might start against Spain.

“He will fight with Jarell Quansah for the position. That’s what the competition is.”

The absences of Rice, Mainoo, Jordan Henderson and Reece James could provide an opportunity for a fresh midfield partner for Elliot Anderson against Spain.

Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly and the highly-rated Alex Scott of Bournemouth are both contenders, while Jude Bellingham could potentially move further back and allow a different attacking midfielder to start at No10, where the Real Madrid star usually plays.

If captain and Ballon d’Or favourite Harry Kane features in all four matches over the coming weeks, he will draw level with Peter Shilton as England men’s all-time most-capped player.

Pickford; Quansah, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Bellingham; Saka, Rogers, Gordon; Kane

Rice, Palmer, Rashford, Mainoo, Livramento

Time and date: 7:45pm BST on Saturday September 26, 2026

How to watch: ITV