England's squad numbers for a World Cup often give an indication as to who the manager is leaning towards starting, with Thomas Tuchel tasked with leading the Three Lions glory
England's squad numbers the World Cup have been leaked - and they contain major hints as to which line-up Thomas Tuchel will name against Croatia. The Three Lions begin their campaign at 9pm UK time on Wednesday, June 17 at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
Tuchel's side will then face Ghana at the same time on Tuesday, June 22 before facing Panama in a 10pm kick-off on Saturday, June 26. The England boss named his squad for the World Cup just under a fortnight ago, causing huge controversy with his decisions.
Now England's squad numbers have emerged four hours before their official announcement at 3pm on Tuesday, hinting at Tuchel's first-choice XI. John Stones, despite his minimal game time for Manchester City this season, will be No.5 at the tournament, pointing towards him partnering No.6 Marc Guehi at centre-back instead of Ezri Konsa.
Nico O'Reilly has been given the No.3 shirt, suggesting that he'll start at left-back. Elliot Anderson is England's No.8, likely rubber-stamping his position in midfield next to No.4 Declan Rice.
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Marcus Rashford has been given the No.11 shirt which could mean that he's ahead of Anthony Gordon (No.18) for a spot in attack. Of course, numbers don't mean everything. Reece James has taken his favoured No.24 shirt but is expected to start at right-back.
Konsa, likely Stones' biggest competition at centre-back, has been given the No.2 shirt which is normally reserved for the starting right-back. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham keeps the No.10 despite Morgan Rogers (No.17) frequently being ahead of him in the pecking order during Tuchel's reign.
A 21-man squad touched down in Miami for England's pre-tournament camp on Monday, with the five remaining members given additional time off after reaching European finals with their respective clubs. Dean Henderson helped Crystal Palace win the Conference League before Arsenal stars Rice, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze lost the Champions League final.
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England are set to play two warm-up friendlies before the World Cup begins, both of which will take place in Florida. The Three Lions firstly take on New Zealand at 9pm on Saturday and Costa Rica at the same time next Wednesday.
Tuchel may well experiment during the friendlies and, more importantly, manage the amount of minutes that his biggest stars play. It's unclear whether the four young players chosen to join training in Miami - Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, Fulham star Josh King, Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha and Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri - will be involved.