Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and the seven players with the most to prove to Thomas Tuchel during England's summer internationals

Bar the (ever-increasing) danger of a serious injury in the modern game, there isn't any other conceivable reason to believe Cole Palmer won't be on the plane to North America next summer. The real question is in regards to his role - will he be a starter or first off the bench?

Midway through 2024-25, Palmer's Chelsea performances had been so fantastic over an 18-month stretch that it seemed he would be shoehorned into any Three Lions line up possible, even with Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham playing in similar areas of the pitch to him. There was talk he alone stood as the Premier League's best player altogether.

But the ice-cold sensation has cooled off since, notably and infamously scoring only three times and adding three assists in the league in 2025. He has also been accused of only being able to thrive in transition, with the limits of his game racing to the surface when trying to break down low or mid-blocks. Nevertheless, Palmer still has credit in the bank at international level having scored in last year's Euro 2024 final, though after missing Tuchel's first camp through injury, he's playing catch-up against his positional rivals.

Another player who was forced to miss the March internationals is Trent Alexander-Arnold, now officially of Real Madrid and who will likely have one eye on the Club World Cup with his new team later this month. He can't let his eye wander in an England shirt any longer, however.

Believe it or not, Euro 2024 was Alexander-Arnold's first major international tournament where he played major minutes, having scarcely featured at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups while he missed Euro 2020 with injury. Even then, he largely played in midfield in a doomed experiment that was abandoned after the group stage. Despite his obvious quality and stacked CV of achievements at the highest level, he's only earned 33 caps at senior level.

Alexander-Arnold has largely been an afterthought in the international setup, and he's going to have to wrestle the right-back spot off of Tuchel's old Chelsea favourite Reece James if he's to feature as a starter at a World Cup for the first time.

Prior to every tournament for the last eight years, the English public have questioned Jordan Pickford's credentials as the Three Lions' starting goalkeeper, and each time he has come back swinging. Even now, with 75 caps under his belt and season-upon-season of impressive showings at Everton, there are still naysayers to his ability and influence.

Once more, there have been murmurs that Pickford is facing trial under new manager Tuchel to prove he should keep the No.1 shirt. If he at any point falters, then Dean Henderson would be the top contender to step in. Having jumped around from club to club all career, the 28-year-old is now settled at Crystal Palace and was a primary reason why they won this season's FA Cup.

Henderson, like Pickford, is a bit mad between the sticks and shares that same northern charisma. The difference between them might only be their shot-stopping abilities, and the Eagles goalkeeper will be eager to take his chance should it arise over the next week.

This time last year, the Three Lions faithful were pleading with Gareth Southgate to let Anthony Gordon spread his wings down England's left flank, with a stale team in need of pace and runners. Fast-forward 12 months and the wide-man's place in the squad is not quite as secure, nor is there a clamour for him to play a starring role.

Gordon is still one of the most electric wingers eligible to represent the country, though he's coming off a fairly underwhelming season on a personal level in spite of Newcastle's successful campaign, which ended with Carabao Cup glory without the suspended Scouser and qualification to the Champions League. He also had his thunder stolen a little by Harvey Barnes, whose return of nine goals and five assists was superior to Gordon's six of each.

With Eberechi Eze in the form of his life and Noni Madueke putting in some quality displays for Chelsea on the left, Gordon is facing a battle to merely stay relevant in Tuchel's thinking. He can't hide behind the annoyances of foul-baiting and runs down dead ends any longer.

Levi Colwill was only making his name as an upstart Chelsea prospect during Tuchel's days at Stamford Bridge, but the England boss will be aware of the centre-back's potential all the same. After all, the German did call the 22-year-old into his first Three Lions squad, though he didn't play a single minute of that camp.

For whatever reason, Tuchel doesn't seem to fancy Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, while fitness concerns over John Stones and Harry Maguire mean they are outside bets to make next summer's final squad. With Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa the more reliable right-footed centre-backs at Tuchel's disposal, it's up to Colwill to muscle his way into the starting XI ahead of Burn.

Colwill has accrued valuable experience over the last couple of seasons in Chelsea's first team. He has been given a platform to get mistakes out of his system and channel his adolescent anger into productive performances. That tally of four caps could multiply significantly by the end of the World Cup if he plays his cards right.

These two former Brentford strikers are coming in as a pair for obvious reason. Kane is the undisputed centre-forward for England when fit, but as Euro 2024 proved, he can't and won't always play 90 to 120 minutes at his age. There is, then, a clear need for firepower off the bench.

The tandem of Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney worked well at that tournament, with both having moments in the sun to give Southgate food for thought. The Three Lions even ended the final loss to Spain with these two on the pitch instead of Kane.

So there is a precedent for both to make a major tournament squad alongside Kane, but they'll be vying for that top reserve spot plenty, particularly with Tuchel acknowledging he wants to see more from them prior to this camp in an explanation of his decision to exclude Tottenham's Dominic Solanke.

"I had a call with Dom Solanke, of course, who deserved to be with us, has won a major title with Tottenham and was a major player for them. But he was in camp already. I have a clear picture of what Dom can bring to this group and what he did.." Tuchel said. "Now is still the moment to see new players, get a feeling for them and see them within the group. And because Ollie and Ivan were both not with us [in March], that is basically the decision."