England XI: The six certain starters for Thomas Tuchel

For all the German coach's optimism, he was given a rude awakening over his opening weekend as Three Lions boss: most teams come to Wembley with the aim of losing by as few goals as possible.

So while high-octane, Premier League style football this was not, maximum points, two clean sheets and some strong individual performances will have given Tuchel plenty to build on ahead of England's next fixtures in June, where even less will be gleaned from a qualifier against Andorra and a friendly at home to Senegal.

In reality he's likely to have learned more from the training pitch and in close quarters than in the 180 minutes of one-sided action.

There are things we can take away though, with plenty of clues given over who may be in the Tuchel starting XI should England, as expected, breeze through qualifying and line up in North America next summer.

Here they are, in order of likelihood.

1. Jordan Pickford

Jordan Pickford is literally and metaphorically the first name on England's team sheet.

That seemed obvious before, and has only been reinforced by Tuchel's openness over wanting experienced leaders to form the spine of his team. Pickford has been England number one at the last four major tournaments and moved level with David Seaman and Joe Hart on 75 caps by starting both recent qualifiers.

Only injury would cost the Everton keeper his place.

2. Bukayo Saka

The old adage that players get better when they're out of the team couldn't have been more accurate as we were forced to watch a multitude of wingers fail to deliver against two very poor, albeit well organised, international teams; only when Eberechi Eze entered the pitch and Morgan Rogers was moved wide was there any true excitement.

Bukayo Saka is one of England's few truly world class players and it's hard to imagine the Three Lions would have scored only five goals across their two fixtures had the Arsenal man been available.

3. Declan Rice

There is certainly an argument to be made that Declan Rice ought to be join top of this list with Saka when it comes to outfield players.

Every other regular England starter seems to be subject to some level of debate over whether they warrant their place in the team; never them.

Rice may take flak for a lack of end product, too much sideways passing and general, tiresome football fan questioning over "what he even does" but never to the point of it being a legitimate suggestion that he's dropped.

How Tuchel sets up his midfield to get the best out of as many of his players as possible, is an entirely separate conversation.

4. Harry Kane

Captain, record goalscorer, scored in both qualifiers, arguably England's greatest ever player.

Harry Kane will start at the World Cup and Tuchel has confirmed as much. Enough said.

5. Jude Bellingham

Jude Bellingham was possibly England's best performer in their opening qualifiers, but a player of such high standards will perhaps be a little frustrated he ended with just one assist to show for it.

Given a free role as a number 10 behind Kane against Albania he was moved slightly deeper against Latvia, with Morgan Rogers occupying the space higher up the pitch.

Finding the best role for him is what England's new manager will be focused on.

6. Myles Lewis-Skelly

All praise the Arsenal academy.

The painful sight of Kieran Trippier scuttling down the left-wing, feinting to cross, cutting back on to his right foot and passing it all the way back to the halfway line for England to shuffle the ball round in another horseshoe is over - and not just because he's retired from international football.

Myles Lewis-Skelly's emergence for a top-level Gunners team this season has been breathtaking, and the confidence with which he took responsibility before becoming the youngest ever Three Lion to score on his debut was even more impressive.

Lewis Hall has been excellent for Newcastle, Luke Shaw is superb if fit, but this kid is a cut above; no wonder Tuchel is "in love with him".

Who starts for England at right-back?

Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn't get much luck when it comes to England.

Consistently overlooked by Gareth Southgate, he couldn't have been more highly praised by interim boss Lee Carsley, who immediately made him first choice right-back, with Kyle Walker's international career looking over, Trippier retired, Reece James injured and Ben White still spitting his dummy out.

Fast forward a few months and with the Liverpool - or soon to be Real Madrid - man injured for Tuchel's first camp, Walker and James started a match each, making strong impressions on their new manager, who was keen to praise both after each game - especially the latter, who he managed during his time as Chelsea boss.

James in particular made quite the impact on his first England start for two and a half years by not only scoring his first Three Lions goal, but by also becoming the first defender to score a direct free-kick for the national team since Stuart Pearce in 1992.

If all of that wasn't enough to get in Alexander-Arnold's way, Tuchel also confirmed that White has ended his self-imposed international exile.

Back where we started at right-back then...

Who starts for England at centre-back?

Harry Maguire and John Stones were England's established centre-backs for several tournaments, but with the former seemingly well out of the picture and the latter struggling to stay fit, these are two positions very much up for grabs.

That being said, one man firmly put his hand up during the international break.

Ezri Konsa didn't put a foot wrong in 180 minutes of qualifying action alongside first Dan Burn, and second Marc Guehi - who was surprisingly jittery after a lengthy period as England's most consistent centre-back.

Levi Colwill and Jarell Quansah were also in the squad but didn't feature.

Tuchel has praised the qualities of Stones publicly, strongly hinting that he and Konsa are his preferred, first choice duo should everyone be fit and in form. But they are very, very big ifs.

Don't be surprised to see Guehi move clubs in the summer to further his England claims too.

How does Tuchel fit Foden in England team?

Once again Phil Foden disappointed in an England shirt when starting on the right-hand side in the win over Albania, with him now scoring four and assisting just nine goals in 45 appearances for his country.

Southgate struggled to find a place for him in his XI and Tuchel faces the same dilemma.

It's still possible that the Manchester City man could force his way in to the side playing on the left, but Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford or Morgan Rogers feel more likely to be chosen by a manager who prefers ball-carrying, dribblers from out wide.

Midfield position wide open

Curtis Jones was given an opportunity alongside Declan Rice in England's opening qualifier, and although this isn't a position Foden has ever filled for the Three Lions it is far from beyond the realms of possibility he takes up that spot - especially given Tuchel's favoured "double six" set-up which sees at least one full-back step into midfield in build-up.

Kobbie Mainoo is another player who will come into the reckoning, as will fellow Euro 2024 squad members Adam Wharton and Conor Gallagher.

And all of this is based on Tuchel sticking with a 4-2-3-1 formation rather than use the 3-4-2-1 that was the backbone of Chelsea's run to Champions League glory.

Let's assume the former. If so, there are five places still up for grabs.

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