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James Garner should anchor the side, with Elliot Anderson freed to drive the ball forward. Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo are both injured, so Thomas Tuchel needs one specialist holding player for this window. Garner fits that brief, while Anderson’s numbers suggest he’s wasted as a pure screener. Spain’s visit to Wembley on September 26 kicked off at 19:45 BST, and this case is built only on evidence available before that match. The fixtures that follow over the next seven weeks will show whether the pairing can last.
Five players were declared unavailable through injury: Rice, Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Tino Livramento. Rice is reportedly managing a long-term hamstring problem, which makes his absence more than a one-window issue.
Tuchel responded by calling up Garner and Morgan Gibbs-White. Rice anchored the side at the World Cup, while Mainoo didn’t play a single minute in that tournament. Neither call-up is a like-for-like swap, since Gibbs-White is more attacking and Garner is a natural holder. Jordan Henderson and Reece James are missing too. That leaves Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Garner, Gibbs-White, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Alex Scott as the central options.
Tuchel’s most recent pairing was Rice and Anderson, and it lost 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final. In the quarter-final against Norway, Rice went off at half-time through illness while Anderson played all 120 minutes of an extra-time win.
Lewis-Skelly and Scott have been named as possible partners, with Bellingham a deeper alternative. None of those three is a natural holder, and that’s the gap Tuchel has to fill. The season numbers below make the choice much sharper.
| Player | Club | Minutes this season | Tackles plus interceptions per 90 | Line-breaking passes per 90 | England caps |
| Elliot Anderson | Manchester City | 415 | 4.55 | 22.3 | 17 |
| James Garner | Everton | 330 | 3.82 | 9.3 | 2 |
| Alex Scott | Bournemouth | 446 | 3.43 | 8.5 | 0 |
| Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 529 | 2.55 | Not available | 56 |
| Morgan Gibbs-White | Nottingham Forest | 450 | 1.20 | 8.0 | 6 |
| Myles Lewis-Skelly | Arsenal | 273 | 0.66 | 9.2 | 6 |
These are 2026/27 league figures from before the Spain match, with per-90 numbers calculated from totals. Line-breaking passes stand in for progressive passes, and Bellingham’s figures come from LaLiga.
Anderson leads on both defensive actions and line-breaking passes, so this argument is about role rather than raw output. Garner ranks second on defensive work at 3.82 per 90, and he’d reached a career-high 4.4 by January last season.
Put Garner in front of the back four, and Anderson no longer has to cover. He can carry the ball forward instead, which is where his 22.3 line-breaking passes per 90 do real damage. That’s nearly two and a half times Garner’s rate, far too valuable to spend covering space.
Garner earned his two senior caps in March, against Uruguay and Japan. Each sample covers roughly five league games, so this is a judgement call rather than proof. Still, it’s the strongest case available with the players Tuchel has.
Spain arrived as world champions and kept 22 of their 26 World Cup players. That continuity makes their press far harder to escape. Any holding player at Wembley has to receive under pressure and move the ball quickly, which is exactly where Rice’s absence bites hardest.
Tuchel criticised his side’s inability to keep the ball under pressure after the Argentina defeat. The numbers that would settle this debate, such as pass completion, duels won and turnovers, don’t exist for this group yet. Anderson’s 90.0% pass completion this season is the baseline worth tracking. If he keeps that level with Garner beside him, the partnership earns a longer run.
After Spain, England travel to Czechia on September 29 and Croatia on October 3, then host Czechia on October 6. Croatia come to Wembley on November 12, followed by a trip to Spain on November 15. Six matches in under two months leaves little room to experiment once the autumn fixtures stack up.
If Garner handles Spain’s press, Tuchel has a ready-made plan for the November trip. Rice’s return would restore the Argentina pairing. Until that hamstring problem clears, Garner is the specialist answer the England midfield Nations League 2027 campaign needs.
Garner as the holder with Anderson pushed forward, or a different pairing entirely? Tell us your midfield two in the comments.
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Why did Declan Rice withdraw from the England squad?
Declan Rice was ruled out through injury and will rest during the international break. He is reportedly managing a long-term hamstring problem, and Mainoo, Palmer, Rashford and Livramento also withdrew.
Who replaced Declan Rice in the England squad?
Everton’s James Garner and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White were called up as replacements. Tuchel added the pair after five players, including Rice and Kobbie Mainoo, were declared unavailable through injury.
Who is England’s best defensive midfielder without Rice?
Elliot Anderson leads the available options on defensive numbers this season. He averages 4.55 tackles plus interceptions per 90, ahead of James Garner on 3.82, though Garner is the more specialist holder.
Who is in Tuchel’s latest England squad?
Thomas Tuchel named a 27-man England squad on September 18. After the withdrawals, his central options are Anderson, Bellingham, Garner, Gibbs-White, Lewis-Skelly and Scott, with Rice and Mainoo both injured.
When do England play Croatia next?
England visit Croatia on Saturday, October 3, in their third match of this window. The return fixture follows at Wembley on Thursday, November 12, three days before England travel to face world champions Spain.
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