Full back issue could be England's World Cup Achilles heel

England's defensive problems have increased after Jarell Quansah had to be substituted in the second half of the 2-0 win against Panama that secured Thomas Tuchel's side top spot in Group L on Saturday night.

The Bayer Leverkusen defender turned his ankle in a challenge that also saw him earn a yellow card in the 63rd minute, and had to be helped off the pitch and replaced by Djed Spence after he immediately signaled that he could not continue.

Reece James (L) of England vies with Jordan Ayew of Ghana during the group L match between England and Ghana at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Boston Stadium in Boston, the United States, June 23, 2026. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen)

Tuchel had used Quansah to replace Reece James, who missed the game with a hamstring injury he picked up in the 0-0 draw against Ghana and who is a doubt for England's round-of-32 tie against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The England coach was criticized when he named his original 26-man squad, with James, Spence, Nico O'Reilly and Tino Livramento the only fullbacks selected. James has a long history of injuries, O'Reilly is a converted midfielder, and Spence usually plays on the left for Tottenham despite being naturally right-footed.

Tuchel's problems increased when Livramento was injured in training before the World Cup and the coach opted to replace him with Trevoh Chalobah, a central defender, rather than another fullback such as Manchester United's Luke Shaw or Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold.

With Chalobah joining the squad, England now has six specialist central defenders, but just three fullbacks, one of whom is injury-prone and currently sidelined.

Spence started at left-back against Ghana but struggled to contribute in attack, with O'Reilly returning to the side on Saturday, while Quansah played as a makeshift right-back but failed before his injury to make the overlapping runs a specialist could provide to help create space in attack.

Until James is fit, England now has only O'Reilly and Spence to defend its flanks and provide the space wingers such as Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford need to create a threat in attack.

Although England beat Croatia 4-2 in its opening group game, Croatia showed England is vulnerable in defense, while Ghana also went close to exploiting space on the break.

Tuchel knows his side will need to beat tougher rivals if it is to go deep into the World Cup, and his lack of specialist fullbacks could prove to be a major weakness, both in attack and in defense.