Gary Neville has accused England of repeating an old mistake at the World Cup by leaving themselves dangerously short at right-back, insisting Thomas Tuchel should have anticipated the injury problems that have now hit his squad.
England head into Wednesday's last-16 meeting with DR Congo facing a selection dilemma after injuries robbed Tuchel of both of his specialist right-backs before the knockout stages.
Reece James has been ruled out until the latter stages of the tournament with a hamstring injury, while Tino Livramento had already withdrawn before England's opening match after suffering the same problem.
Their absences leave Tuchel weighing up whether to deploy Djed Spence, who has largely featured at left-back for Tottenham and was selected primarily as cover for Nico O'Reilly, or turn to central defenders Jarrel Quansah or Ezri Konsa in an unfamiliar role.
Former England defender Neville believes the situation was entirely predictable given the recent injury histories of both James and Livramento.
The ex-Manchester United captain, who won 85 England caps at right-back, says England have once again underestimated the importance of the position at a major tournament.
"It's not the first time I've seen England disrespect the full-back position in the last 15 to 20 years," Neville told Sky Sports.
"They've thought they can take one full-back and then someone else can fill in. That just isn't going to work.
Gary Neville has accused England of repeating an old mistake at the World Cup by leaving themselves dangerously short at right-back, insisting Thomas Tuchel should have anticipated the injury problems that have now hit his squad
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Reece James is out of England's match with DR Congo due to a hamstring injury
| GETTY"If you're playing against Vinicius Jr in a quarter-final, or a France or Argentina winger, you're going to get turned over if you're not competent."
Neville suggested Tuchel may already be preparing to hand Spence a key role after the defender was rested during England's final group-stage fixture.
"Tuchel has got Djed Spence, who he rested the other day," he continued.
"I hope that's because he needs to play the rest of the games.
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England's record at the World Cup | GETTY/ GB NEWS"But we are very thin on the ground."
Neville believes the warning signs were there long before England travelled to the tournament, arguing the coaching staff should have accounted for the fitness records of both injured defenders.
"Livramento and James - with their injury record over the last few years - it shouldn't have been a shock when their injuries happened," he said.
"They haven't been the most robust and resilient, and I feel for them because they're very talented players and they'll be hurting.
"Tuchel should have seen that. Everyone in the country could have seen that with James and Livramento."
While England remain favourites to progress, Neville also warned against underestimating DR Congo after they reached the knockout stages as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams.
The African side advanced from a difficult group featuring Colombia and Portugal and, according to Neville, possess the pace to punish England on the counter-attack.
England boss Thomas Tuchel is currently preparing for Wednesday night's showdown with DR Congo
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"Congo's going to be tough," he said.
"You have to make sure you don't concede counter-attacks.
"We've conceded a few in the last few games and on another day, we would have conceded a penalty against Ghana. The one Ezri Konsa tackle, that's a penalty.
"Against Panama, they didn't have quality, but they did have their moments where they countered through us.
"Making sure DR Congo don't have the counter-attacks will be important."
England will now hope they have enough defensive depth to avoid Neville's fears becoming reality as Tuchel's side look to keep their World Cup hopes alive in Atlanta.