England’s John Stones during training for the World Cup European Qualifiers at St George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, Britain on September 3, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Action Images via Reuters
England will be without defender John Stones for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Birmingham and Tuesday’s match away to Serbia, manager Thomas Tuchel said, after the Manchester City player withdrew with a muscle injury.
Tuchel said Stones could not be risked for the upcoming games, having earlier called the 31-year-old a “no-brainer” choice saying he brings “the full package” to the squad. Stones has not added to his 83 caps since October due to injury issues.
“Unfortunately John just left (the camp), he came with minor muscle issues to the camp and did not progress as we thought and hoped he would so he left this morning,” Tuchel told reporters on Friday.
“We will not take the risk with him, not against Andorra or Serbia.”
The German coach is left with Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah and Newcastle’s Dan Burn as centre-back options. Guehi missed out on a deadline day transfer to Liverpool when his club Crystal Palace pulled out of the deal.
“Guehi looks absolutely fine and impressive on the field, he has a good couple of weeks behind him… He is the main driver of Crystal Palace’s success, he is the captain and the leader and he played very impressively at the end of last season,” Tuchel said.
Tuchel confirmed captain Harry Kane will start against Andorra and said he would not be experimenting with the attack.
“We have a condensed camp, which means we will start with the team we trust and the best team possible, and then, we will manage the second game,” Tuchel said.
“We will not do it backwards. We will not get caught up in experiments – everything that counts is today and tomorrow.”
Tuchel said England could take encouragement from the recent success of the women’s side with Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses winning their second consecutive European Championship in July as well as Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 side retaining their European title.
“No (I don’t think it has added pressure). If it is something then it is a good omen,” Tuchel said.
“It is possible (to win a trophy with England), there is no curse on English teams and we will do our very best to follow their example.
“I was so happy for Sarina and (under-21 coach) Lee (Carsley) because they made an extraordinary effort and a huge success with back-to-back victories.”
Tuchel has won his first three World Cup qualifiers with England, including an unimpressive 1-0 win away to Andorra in June, but they suffered a 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal in their last outing.
Published – September 06, 2025 01:35 am IST
