After making his FIFA World Cup debut as a substitute, Watkins referenced Konsa's performance in England's 2024 friendly against Brazil, where the defender successfully contained Vinicius Jr.

Thomas Tuchel faces a significant dilemma at right-back. Reece James is sidelined with a hamstring injury through at least the Round of 16, and backup Quansah suffered an ankle sprain in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Panama. Watkins is confident his Aston Villa teammate Konsa can play there if needed.

"I think Konsa is really underrated," he said. "He's always been understated for years now. I think he's one of the Premier League's best centre-backs, but people don't see him that way immediately—whether that's down to Villa's lack of exposure or because people always look at the big clubs first, I'm not sure. But defensively, he makes very few mistakes. One-on-one, he's excellent. When we played Brazil, Vinicius couldn't get past him at all. He's very solid. Centre-back is his position, but he can play right-back too. And if he plays there, I completely believe he won't just do the job—he'll perform at a really high level and make it extremely difficult for top wingers to get past him."

Spence is the only other natural right-back in the England squad, though his only start in this tournament was on the left, when Tuchel deployed him there to cope with Ghana's striker Semenyo's pace.

Tuchel's side sits in the lower half of the tournament and faces DR Congo in a Round of 16 playoff on Wednesday as they bid for their first FIFA World Cup trophy in 60 years. Ahead of that match, Tuchel expressed concern about England's right-back situation.

On Quansah's injury, Tuchel said: "It's a typical ankle sprain and he's in significant pain. He's had this before and said recovery takes a few days. He's got his foot elevated now and is still icing it. Of course, I'm concerned about the right-back position—we've had another injury there. Recovery for both Reece James and Quansah will be tight, but our job is to find solutions, and we will."

If England beats DR Congo, the path ahead won't be easy. The Round of 16 opponent could be Mexico or Ecuador, and a further advance could mean facing Brazil, Ivory Coast, or Norway in the quarter-finals.

AI翻訳。

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