Thomas Tuchel’s decision to call up Trevoh Chalobah to replace the injured Tino Livramento was labelled ‘strange’ by Wayne Rooney, but the England boss has explained his thinking.
Newcastle full-back Livramento had to be sent home ahead of England’s opener against Croatia on Wednesday after picking up an injury in training. With Livramento in the squad as a player capable of playing at right or left full-back, it was something of a surprise to see a centre-back in Chalobah drafted in to replace him.
England and Manchester United legend Rooney said it was ‘strange’ to add more central defensive cover to the squad, wanting to see left-back Luke Shaw called up instead, while Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold or Newcastle’s Lewis Hall could have been other options.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Tuchel explained that he feels he has cover at full-back on both sides of the defence, thanks to the flexibility of his defenders. ‘We called Trevoh Chalobah because then we free up Jarell Quansah as a full back on both sides and Djed Spence both sides as a full-back,’ said Tuchel. ‘So Trevoh comes as a centre-back alternative and gives us full coverage in the back four.’
Rooney told the BBC of the decision: ‘It’s a bit strange. I would have liked to have seen Luke Shaw and then Djed Spence maybe being cover for Reece James and Luke Shaw come in. But I’m sure Thomas Tuchel has kept contact with players to stay available and I’m sure he [Chalobah] was one of those who was available.’
On the nightmare scenario for Livramento, Tuchel said: ‘Tino was of course very disappointed and very sad, all of us were. There was a little shock in training when he stopped training and he straight away had the feeling that this was an injury that could cost him the tournament and he was unfortunately right. After assessment we got the information that it’s an injury of four or five weeks, which is unfortunately to keep rebuilding and reintegrating him into the squad, so we took the decision to send him home. He was of course disappointed and so were we, he was a key player and in good shape and available for both sides for us as a full-back.’
Ahead of England’s opener against Croatia on Wednesday night, there has been some uncertainty over who Tuchel will field in a number of positions. Two of three centre-backs will start, with Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and John Stones vying for places in the starting XI. There has also been little clarity over who Tuchel will play in his three behind Harry Kane, with Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke competing on the right, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers at no.10 and Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford on the left. However, reports on the morning of the game suggest Madueke, Gordon and Bellingham have won those races to start against Croatia. Somewhat surprisingly, Guehi is also expected to miss out, with Konsa and Stones at the heart of defence.
