England ended 2025 with a misleadingly strong defensive record: a World Cup qualifying campaign without conceding and a clean sheet in a routine friendly win over Wales. In 2026, however, clean sheets have become rare. Thomas Tuchel’s side have kept only four in 13 games, their worst defensive record since 2008, and the manager may soon revisit his suggestion that the answer to England’s lack of control is to embrace chaos.
There is irony in asking Tuchel to fix the defence, given England were criticised for being limp and passive in their World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina. But the 3-2 Nations League loss to Spain last Saturday at least showed a positive mindset: England played on the front foot, led after a thrilling surge, and had Spain on the ropes. It was not sustainable. Another lead was squandered against elite opposition, leaving Tuchel with tactical problems before Tuesday’s game against Czechia in Prague.
This is England’s second of four games in the break. They need a win to keep alive a proper shot at reaching the quarter-finals in March. Croatia await in Rijeka on Saturday and are likely to be tougher than a Czechia side that failed to make it out of a weak group at the World Cup.
A confidence-boosting clean sheet would help. England were worryingly fragile against Spain, who generated 3.08 expected goals from open play and could have been 4-0 up by the time Anthony Gordon cancelled out Lamine Yamal’s early goal. Two of Spain’s goals came from errors, with Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly punished. Jordan Pickford had ropey moments in goal during the World Cup, and Ezri Konsa has lacked consistency as Guéhi’s central defensive partner.
The clean sheets in qualifying against Albania, Andorra, Latvia and Serbia told England little. Since then they have been breached by Uruguay, Japan, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mexico, Norway, Argentina, France and Spain. They were not tested when they kept clean sheets in World Cup warm-ups against New Zealand and Costa Rica, and were fortunate not to concede in group games against Ghana and Panama.
Tuchel wants an aggressive line. He has favoured the mobile pairing of Konsa and Guéhi in central defence in seven of the past 13 games. Alternatives such as Jarrad Branthwaite, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill remain untested, and a viable replacement for John Stones has yet to emerge. Stones starting forces England deeper, but one of their better defensive displays at the World Cup came when the 32-year-old nullified Erling Haaland in the win over Norway.
There is a misconception that England are experts at backs-to-the-wall defending. They were heroic when down to 10 men in the last-16 win over Mexico, but they conceded plenty of chances from crosses when the numbers were even at the Azteca. The pressure eventually told. Argentina saw England fall back, repeatedly attacked them from wide areas and grabbed the winner when Lionel Messi crossed for Lautaro Martínez to head home. Gareth Southgate’s England also conceded from crosses and set pieces in crunch knockout games against Croatia, Italy and Spain. Harry Maguire, a powerful aerial presence, played in two of those games, but Tuchel has discarded him and is looking for a more progressive approach than absorbing punches.
Yet England’s lack of control leaves them vulnerable in many ways. Uruguay won an equalising penalty with a deep cross. Japan ran through midfield to score on the counterattack. Mexico profited from set pieces. Croatia and the DRC caused problems with switches of play. Spain cut through the middle for their winner on Saturday. It is easy to focus on defenders being pulled out of position, but England are not the same when Declan Rice is unavailable. They do not function without his interceptions, positional discipline and ability to fill holes.
Against Spain, Konsa goofed an interception after leaving his position to challenge for an Unai Simón clearance, forcing James Trafford to save after Ferran Torres darted through a big gap. The risks were extreme. England tried to go man-for-man but the centre-backs were missing and Jarell Quansah was 10 yards deeper than O’Reilly, the other full-back. Some of this is inexperience: O’Reilly and Quansah, more comfortable at centre-back, are young.
Individual attributes also play a part. Southgate had the cheat code otherwise known as peak Kyle Walker, whose recovery pace at right-back gave England freedom to push up. Reece James is Tuchel’s first choice but does not have Walker’s durability. James is out of this camp after yet another injury and often plays as a midfielder for Chelsea, who feel their captain lacks the physical capacity to function as a modern full-back.
It is not ideal that Tuchel has had to chop and change so much. Southgate knew his best defence – Walker, Stones, Maguire and Luke Shaw – but Tuchel has struggled to find a settled back four. Newcastle full-back Tino Livramento withdrew last week. Stones, Djed Spence and Dan Burn are also unavailable. O’Reilly and Konsa followed individual programmes before England flew to Prague on Monday. Lewis Hall, who has four caps, could replace O’Reilly at left-back. Trent Alexander-Arnold could make his first international appearance since a brief runout against Andorra in June 2025, and may get another chance at right-back against Czechia.
Tuchel has looked at eight right-backs since last giving Alexander-Arnold a chance. He did not take the Real Madrid right-back to the World Cup and does not trust his defensive acumen. The counter-argument is that England are not exactly solid without Alexander-Arnold. What do they have to lose by trying to tap into his creative threat?