England take on Panama on Saturday evening knowing a win will see them top the group and ensure they sit on the more favourable side of the knockout draw. While Panama will be no pushovers, they are on paper the easier opponents for England to face, however injury and fitness issues continue to feature heavily in the build-up. With this in mind, we will be continuing our predicted XI’s for the clash on Saturday, looking at how Tuchel could rotate with his squad while also trying to keep some cohesion and consistency.

Let us know your predicted XI for England’s final group game on Saturday evening over on our social channels, and don’t forget to check back with us throughout the tournament for plenty more England and World Cup action.

Defence

In goal, Jordan Pickford has to continue his starting role, as despite a temptation to rotate, the goalkeeper position should remain consistent as fitness is less of an issue with this position. Meanwhile, Pickford has had a couple of shaky moments so far in the games we’ve seen, so extra minutes on the pitch can help him settle into the tournament.

The back four has been a big talking point due to the Recce James hamstring injury and the question over the centre back pairing. With Tuchel bringing in Trevoh Chalobah as an injury replacement for Livramento, it means England are potentially short of full-back options despite Tuchel claiming to view Quansah and Burn as viable options.

My choice for the back four against Panama would be Jarell Quansah at right back, a role he’s not played much however I would prefer for Tuchel to rest Djed Spence if possible for this clash, especially if the Reece James injury is likely to be longer term, as England will need right-back cover in later more critical moments so I would like to rotation to be a factor. At left-back, I think Nico O’Reilly is a great option still and the more minutes he gets the more likely we are to see the best of him, especially if he can create a partnership with Gordon/Rashford in attacking phases.

At centre-back, I’d like to see Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi continue to build their pairing with more minutes, and with Stones potentially available for a later switch to build his game time, maybe even alongside Burn for a few minutes if England are struggling to break down the Panama defence and need his set-piece threat.

The back four selection I have allows for a chance to gel pairings and players further, gain a bit more tournament experience for some players and also allow a little bit of rotation and protection as and when needed.

Midfield

My midfield three to start this one again is largely rotated due to the fitness and injury concerns. While Declan Rice did come into the tournament not at full fitness, his injury concerns seem largely fitness related. The same is also being speculated about Elliot Anderson, and so starting with a different pairing in midfield makes sense in my opinion.

With that in mind, I’m opting for Kobbie Mainoo and Jordan Henderson to start the game, with possible changes later in the game with O’Reilly possibly being allowed to push into the midfield to experiment with this. I personally think Mainoo is vastly underutilised especially against Ghana when England were struggling to thread a ball through the stubborn defence. Meanwhile, I personally still cannot see the point in Jordan Henderson’s selection, however I expect his experience and ability to play at least an hour should see England hold control of the game for long enough.

Finally, in the no.10 role, I think I’d like Jude Bellingham to start, to hopefully grab a goal and build his form further into the tournament, as he certainly won’t want to miss out on any game time, so leaving him out makes little sense. At half-time it would be nice for England to bring in Rogers for a full stint in the role and allow for the rest of Bellingham while not losing the quality.

Attack

Finally, in attack I’d opt for a front three of Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane. Gordon has struggled at times in this tournament and been unable to make a difference in key moments, with Rashford a marked improvement against Croatia and Ghana proving too stubborn in their defence. As a result, I think playing him into form makes sense.

With Bukayo Saka, his injury led into the tournament, however if he can get an hour under his belt, Tuchel will have a better knowledge of his fitness levels without chucking Saka into a tough environment of a must-win knockout round. Unlikely to play the full 90, Tuchel could experiment with Eze or others being tried on the right of the attack.

Finally, Harry Kane is after records and golden boot contention, so he will want to start also. Another player unlikely to play the full 90, he should be able to start the game and hopefully for England’s sake get out after an hour without any notable injury concerns.

Don’t forget to let us know your predicted XI for England’s final group game on Saturday evening over on our social channels, and don’t forget to check back with us throughout the tournament for plenty more England and World Cup action.