Saka & Rice rested
England will hold Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice back for most of the Japan friendly, with manager Thomas Tuchel confirming both will join the squad late to prioritise rest. (x.com)
Thomas Tuchel confirmed 11 players will join camp late and miss the Uruguay opener; the late arrivals are Dean Henderson, Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, Elliott Anderson, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. (sports.yahoo.com) The Uruguay friendly is scheduled for Friday 27 March (7.45pm) at Wembley and the Japan match for Tuesday 31 March (7.45pm), and both are England’s final home fixtures before Tuchel names his World Cup squad in May. (englandfootball.com) Tuchel said he would “divide it into basically two camps” to “open up the picture” and create “competition for plane tickets to the US,” explaining the staggered reporting plan. (sports.yahoo.com) Sky Sports reports the late‑arrival group largely comprises players who have logged more than 3,500 minutes for their clubs this season, a workload metric Tuchel referenced when justifying the approach. (skysports.com) Tuchel confirmed several players who feature in the Uruguay game will then be released ahead of the Japan fixture so a fresh group can be tested in the second match. (sports.yahoo.com) The manager named an expanded 35‑man squad to give fringe players an audition, with Trent Alexander‑Arnold omitted and recalls for Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo noted by Sky Sports. (skysports.com)
