The competition in England s midfield is getting fierce: Rice locks in the No. 8 position, why does Chick become the "lucky person"?

Since Thomas Tuchel became the head coach of England, he has recruited 13 different midfielders on the third national roster. Obviously, the midfielder is currently the team where there are "more questions than answers" and there are only 9 months left to start the World Cup.

In preparation for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra at Villa Park Stadium and Serbia at Belgrade, Tuchel will call Elliott Anderson and Adam Walton to the England adult national team for the first time. In his opinion, this is a great opportunity to look at two people in an international event environment—whether in training camp or in the qualifiers.

"We think they are both worthy of this call," Tuchel said on the day of the announcement of the roster, "Last season, they played an important role in the success of their respective clubs and are in good shape at the moment. It is time to increase competition in the midfield position and to inject some fresh blood into the team."

However, Walton exited the roster due to an adductor injury. It is reported that he is very frustrated by the missed opportunity - he is well aware that there are few opportunities to meet and impress the new coach before the World Cup in North America next summer. After Walton exited, the beneficiary was Ruben Loftus-Chick. The player has not played for England for nearly seven years and has received a chance to make up for the recruitment this time. "Replacement" is the keyword - the last time he wore the "Three Lions" robe was in November 2018, shortly after he participated in the World Cup in Russia with England.

People may easily regard Lovetus-Chick's recruitment as a "one-time emergency": after all, Tuchel is the former Chelsea coach, and this time he just asked his old subordinates to temporarily save the situation. But Tuchel's style of acting is not the case.

Everything he does is organized and thoughtfully. Loftus-Chik's versatility and competition experience meant that we should not rule out a possibility—even if the probability seems unlikely—he might be able to shine in this week’s game and successfully make it to the candidate next spring when Tuchel finalizes the World Cup squad.

In fact, Loftus-Chik has often played a more advanced position in AC Milan recently, actually playing the role of "No. 10" (offensive midfielder); but during his time at Chelsea, Tuchel mainly deployed him as a "drag-back midfielder", which is likely his main position in England.

When the two worked together at Stamford Bridge, Lovetus Chick was placed in multiple different positions in the midfield and even played all defensive positions except the left back.

"He (Tuchel) asked me when he first arrived at Chelsea, 'Do you want to try the right wing back?' I said 'No, no, no'... I ended up playing this position!" Lovetus-Chik recalled, "I played many positions under him."

"After coming to AC Milan, I would play more forward and closer to the forward in order to participate in goals and help the team in the offensive third zone. But under Tuchel, I often play backwards, so I can do this role. There are always various emergencies in the competition, and being multi-faceted is actually an advantage. As long as I can fill the team, I am willing to play wherever I play, and I will do my best."

We know that Tuchel is currently looking for a main "6" player (defensive midfielder). England has always had shortcomings in this position in the past few seasons - in fact, this problem has become increasingly obvious since Calvin Phillips gradually faded out of the competition for the main national team. Previously, Jordan Henderson was temporarily placed in this position.

However, Jarrel Quasah's unexpected selection was quite meaningful - Tuchel did not recruit another midfielder, but instead recruited a central defender.

Therefore, Quasah's selection this time may be a substitute for Stones so that the Manchester City player can be examined in a defensive midfield position. Tuchel has been considering this plan before, and subsequent developments are worth paying attention to.

Apparently, Tuchel will continue to have Declan Rice as a higher-level "8" (center forward) - Rice has performed well in this position during his time at Arsenal, and Tuchel will not let him retreat to a deeper position.

If Rice is pulled back, it will weaken his influence in the front position, and Tuchel is very clear that playing a role on the offensive end is one of Rice's most outstanding abilities now. In addition, although Kobe Maynu was the main midfielder of England's European Cup finals in the Berlin European Cup, he has been in a bad situation at Manchester United recently. At present, it is difficult for him to return to the England national team in the short term.

Therefore, as the "engine" of England's midfield area - if England wants to control the ball in important future games, this position is crucial - there are still many problems that need to be solved by Tuchel. He undoubtedly hopes that through this international match day inspection, he can find a solution to the midfield problem closer.