The England under-21 heroes Tuchel MUST pick for the World Cup

England’s under-21s have retained the European Championship – with several Young Lions surely catching the eye of the watching Thomas Tuchel.

Led by Lee Carsley, the side beat Germany 3-2 after extra-time in a thrilling final and some players could breathe new life into Tuchel’s unconvincing reign as England manager to date.

We’ve picked out five of England’s squad from the tournament that Tuchel might be tempted to pick for next summer’s World Cup.

Tino Livramento

England couldn’t move for right-backs a few years back, but the situation is more nuanced now.

Kieran Tripper has retired from international football, Kyle Walker should follow him, Reece James’ hamstrings are made of cheestring and Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t seem to convince Tuchel.

That leaves a spot free for Livramento, the archetypal modern full-back who is equally comfortable defending and attacking.

The Newcastle man was rotated during the group stages, but played all of the Under-21’s knockout victories and made his senior England debut last November. A no-brainer.

Elliot Anderson

For years, England have lacked a central midfielder capable of putting their foot on the ball and controlling the game against technically adept opponents.

But England also lack midfield dynamism at present, with Declan Rice unable to do it all alone and Conor Gallagher resembling a labrador bounding after a tennis ball in the local park.

This is where Anderson should come in; benched for the quarter-final against Spain, the Nottingham Forest man came off the bench to slam home a late penalty and ran the show in the semis and final.

Approaching his 23rd birthday, Anderson will surely be picked soon to thwart Scotland’s advances – but he’s capable of starting for England in North America next summer.

Harvey Elliott

England may be stacked in Elliott’s position and he’ll probably need to leave Liverpool for more regular football, but the midfielder was a cut above his contemporaries at the Under-21 finals in Slovakia.

Two wonder goals against the Netherlands in the semi-final was followed by Elliott opening the scoring against Germany in the final.

There’s no reason the 22-year-old couldn’t be an intriguing and versatile attacking option for Tuchel in September, with room for experimentation against Andorra especially.

Brighton are the current favourites for his signature, ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea.

Jarrell Quansah

Most centre-backs look accomplished next to Virgil van Dijk, but there have been question marks over Quansah’s prospects after several notable mistakes.

In his first Liverpool match as manager, Arne Slot substituted the young defender at half-time and only trusted him sparingly for the rest of the 2024-25 season.

But there’s a player there, especially as Bayer Leverkusen are poised to sign Quansah, and the defender looked increasingly imperious as the Under-21 finals progressed.

With England hardly overflowing with centre-back options, the 22-year-old could play his way into contention with a top season at Leverkusen.

Omari Hutchinson

England can hardly move for wingers and wide attackers at present, with the question being more how to incorporate everybody into the starting XI rather than scrabbling around for options.

But Hutchinson did his future international prospects no harm with an enterprising tournament, always willing to take defenders on and scoring in the final.

He’d probably need to leave Ipswich for a Premier League club this summer, although that shouldn’t be a problem with several eager to sign the 21-year-old.

The skilful winger is reportedly being eyed by Everton, Brentford, West Ham and Fulham, with Bundesliga heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig also interested.

He’d still need a stellar season to force his way into Tuchel’s World Cup plans, but Hutchinson’s performances in Slovakia were of international class. Don’t rule him out.

READ NEXT: The 6 stars from the Under-21 Euros that Premier League clubs MUST sign this summer

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every previous winner of the Under-21 European Championship?

Click here to read article