FIFA World Cup 2026: England without Reece James for Panama clash, Saka and Rice fit to play

Los Angeles [US], June 27 (ANI): Thomas Tuchel will be without Reece James for England’s final FIFA World Cup Group L match against Panama on Saturday due to injury, but the coach confirmed that Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson are all available as his side aims to secure qualification for the next round.

Tuchel confirmed that James has not travelled with the squad and will definitely miss the match, although he remains hopeful the right-back could return later in the tournament.

England lead the group on four points, level with Ghana, while Croatia sit third on three points, and Panama remain bottom without a point.

“He has a minor hamstring injury. He was not able to train the last two days. He’s on an accelerated rehab programme. We will take it game by game, but we strongly believe that he will be available for us again in the tournament. No one could see that coming. Reece felt good and was in good shape. We would love to have Reece, he’s a good player, and we will look for solutions. That’s what we do,” Tuchel said as per Reuters.

“Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson trained with us today. They had minor issues after the game, but everyone is available for us apart from Reece James. We will make a decision tomorrow,” he added.

England are strong favourites against Panama, having previously beaten the same opposition 6-1 in 2018. However, Panama have yet to score in the tournament, following narrow 1-0 defeats to both Ghana and Croatia. (ANI)

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