Thomas Tuchel urged to drop England star despite key win over Croatia

Thomas Tuchel has been urged to drop England star Ezri Konsa despite the Three Lions starting off their World Cup campaign with a win over Croatia.

Konsa played alongside John Stones in the heart of England's defence, conceding twice in the first half.

The Three Lions' next match will see Thomas Tuchel's side take on Ghana on June 23, who got off to winning ways against Panama.

Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown suggested dropping Konsa for England's next game.

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He told BetGoodwin: "I thought Marc Guehi would start alongside John Stones against Croatia.

"It was all a little bit shaky in the first half at times; England weren't very decisive in defence. What I will say is that in the second half, everything was a lot better, including at the back.

"Croatia aren't the side they used to be, but they're still a good team, and we did well to beat them.

"Personally, I'd go with Stones and Guehi for the next game, with Ezri Konsa dropping out."

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Brown continued: "They've been playing and training with each other at Manchester City for the past six months, so it's a relatively experienced partnership.

"Stones and Konsa last night looked a bit nervy, so that's what Thomas Tuchel will look at and try to sort out before the Ghana game."

Former England defender Danny Mills echoed Brown's thoughts, telling SkyBet: "If John Stones is 100 per cent fit, I'd always play him alongside Marc Guehi. I think they've got an understanding at club level, which is vital.

"Ezri Konsa did well, but my preferred partnership would be Stones and Guehi because I think they have a better understanding.

"The left-back situation is going to be interesting. Nico O'Reilly is much better going forward than he is defensively, and that's fine against teams that aren't at the very top level like Croatia.

"You've now got two games where we expect England to win relatively comfortably. Ghana might be a little trickier, but you'd still expect England to pick up at least four points from the next two matches.

"The real test will come in the latter stages when you have to be defensively very sound.

"When you've got players from Argentina, Brazil or France attacking you, that's when England will have to tighten up as the tournament progresses."

Mills continued: "There will be lessons to learn from Croatia - defensively, England need to be tighter.

'You can't afford to concede two simple goals against some of the best teams because that will cost you in the latter stages of the tournament.

"I think that will improve as players become more accustomed to the tournament and more familiar with each other. Attacking-wise, it's never really been a problem.

"The main concern is defensive positioning and solidity. We always knew that was probably going to be England's biggest weakness in the tournament. If they can address that, we know that on their day, England can match anybody."

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