What time is England playing on Saturday? England head into that match against Panama after a 0-0 draw with Ghana on Tuesday left them without top spot wrapped up. Thomas Tuchel has already said there will be changes, and the draw sharpened the decisions around a squad carrying injury doubts and rotation pressure.
Declan Rice and Reece James
Declan Rice finished the Ghana match with strapping on his left calf and is one booking from a ban. Reece James is out for at least two games with a hamstring problem, which narrows Tuchel’s defensive options at the same time that the schedule starts to bite.
Tuchel named only three attacking full-backs in his squad, and Tino Livramento has already left the camp and been replaced by Trevoh Chalobah. That leaves England with less room to protect bodies if the manager wants to keep the side fresh for a run of four games in 13 days.
Harry Kane and Ghana
The problem against Ghana was not just the scoreline. England have not played as well against low blocks as they have in space, and their qualifying games against Andorra, Albania and Latvia were laboured, while wins over Croatia, Serbia and Wales came when opponents left more room.
Harry Kane felt that squeeze too. Thomas Partey stayed close to him and limited him to 19 touches, a reminder that Panama are unlikely to offer England an easy route through the middle even after losing 1-0 to Ghana and 1-0 to Croatia.
Panama and Thomas Tuchel
Panama were awkward in both of those defeats, and they have already improved since losing 6-1 to England at the 2018 World Cup. That puts Tuchel in a tight spot: England need a result strong enough to keep control of the group, but the draw with Ghana means he cannot simply rest players and hope the depth takes care of the rest.
The only thing England have not been given is the kickoff time. The match is on Saturday, but the precise time still has to be pinned down by the schedule readers are waiting on.
