Jamie Carragher has accused Thomas Tuchel of making a "bizarre" selection call that has left England vulnerable ahead of their crucial World Cup last-16 showdown with Mexico.
The former Liverpool defender believes England's problems at right-back are self-inflicted after Tuchel opted to bring Trevoh Chalobah into his squad instead of selecting a natural replacement when injuries struck before the tournament.
England booked their place in the knockout stages with a dramatic 2-1 victory over DR Congo, where Harry Kane struck twice late on to spare the Three Lions from a shock exit.
Despite progressing, Tuchel's side have faced mounting criticism after a series of underwhelming performances, with defensive concerns dominating the build-up to Monday's meeting with co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
England's problems began when first-choice right-back Reece James suffered a hamstring injury following the goalless draw with Ghana.
Things worsened when Tino Livramento was ruled out before the tournament had even started after damaging his calf in training.
Because the injury occurred before FIFA's squad deadline, Tuchel was permitted to call up another player and chose Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah instead of bringing in a specialist right-back.
Jamie Carragher has accused Thomas Tuchel of making a "bizarre" selection call that has left England vulnerable ahead of their crucial World Cup last-16 showdown with Mexico
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Trevoh Chalobah was a shock inclusion in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the World Cup
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The decision forced Djed Spence to switch across to the right side of defence against DR Congo, where England were exposed early as their opponents scored after just seven minutes.
Carragher believes Tuchel's squad planning has now created an avoidable selection headache.
"This all just goes back to Thomas Tuchel's decisions around the right back area. It's just not been right from day one with the squad that's been picked," Carragher told Sky Sports News.
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England's record at the World Cup | GETTY/ GB NEWS"It's not been clever after the event. He picked two very injury-prone players at right back, he brought another right back if you like, Djed Spence, but at left back.
"But I think to bring Chalobah in when there were injuries in that position was a bizarre decision. He's not a right back, so you're going to leave yourself short."
Some have suggested Declan Rice should move into defence against Mexico after briefly filling the role against DR Congo, but Carragher believes England would simply be creating another problem.
"No, I wouldn't start Declan Rice at right-back," he said.
"Look, England have got a slim chance of going all the way in the World Cup, I don't think playing Declan Rice as the right-back from now until the end of the tournament would be the solution."
Instead, Carragher argued England cannot afford to weaken the middle of the pitch.
Jamie Carragher doesn't want Declan Rice to play at right-back in England's World Cup clash with Mexico
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"To be honest, I think you'd leave yourself so empty in midfield. I thought Elliot Anderson, in the one game when Declan Rice wasn't in there, found it tough dealing with opposition's counter-attacks and that was against moderate opposition as well," he continued.
"For me, Declan Rice would play in midfield. (Tuchel) has got a decision to make. I think a lot of criticism Djed Spence has had on the back of the last game is a little over the top.
"He didn't have his best game, I must say that, but I don't think anyone has come out of this tournament so far with flying colours other than Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
"I think a lot of the problems that arose in the last game were not so much the back four but how easy it was to get at the back four.
"We know we haven't got an abundance of world class players defensively, now that's probably the weak area of our team, but there was a lot wrong with England in that first 20 minutes and how easy it was to get at the back four."