Thomas Tuchel has made it clear that England players must be playing regularly to secure a World Cup spot, but John Stones appears to be the exception. The England head coach continues to rate the injury-prone Manchester City defender highly, despite a lost season at club level under Pep Guardiola.
Stones, 31, has started only four Premier League games and four Champions League matches this season, with his most recent start in the latter coming against Bayer Leverkusen on 25 November. He has been an unused substitute in both legs of City's Champions League last-16 exit to Real Madrid and the Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal, despite Guardiola being without injured defenders Rúben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
Tuchel, however, remains a firm believer in Stones' ability, describing him as a 'world-class player'. The England boss took Stones to a warm-weather training camp in Girona last June even though he was unfit to play, and started him in all four matches during the October and November international breaks. 'If you come to the World Cup, you should be fit,' Tuchel said. 'When John came [to this camp] he was fit. He did not have a lot of minutes but he has a level of game understanding. I knew that he was ready to play.'
Stones was forced to withdraw from the recent England camp after feeling a calf issue in training, missing the friendly against Uruguay. Tuchel opted not to risk him, saying: 'He's obviously very upset and at the moment he gets my full support because it helps him more than putting more pressure on him.' The manager added that Stones has 'a lot of credit in the bank' with him.
In contrast, Harry Maguire, Stones' former defensive partner under Gareth Southgate, has returned to form at Manchester United, starting all 10 matches under interim manager Michael Carrick. Tuchel recalled Maguire after a year-and-a-half absence and played him against Uruguay, where he made a vital late block to preserve a 1-1 draw.
