Thomas Tuchel will name his penultimate England squad before the World Cup on Friday. When Tuchel names his England squad for the two March friendlies on Friday it will give a major hint as to who will be on the plane for this summer's World Cup.

England cruised through qualifying with a perfect record of eight wins out of eight and Tuchel largely used a settled XI as he focused on building a club feel within his squad, which could be away in the USA for the best part of two months. But with seven of the XI - Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane - near enough nailed on to start, there are still some dilemmas for the England boss to work through before the first World Cup group game against Croatia.

Tuchel will reveal his squad for the matches against Uruguay on 27 March and Japan on 31 March on Friday at 11:00 GMT. The issue that has created the most noise since Tuchel took charge is about how he has dealt with Jude Bellingham and the battle for the number 10 position.

The Real Madrid midfielder was left out of the October camp after injury despite wanting to join up as Tuchel favoured keeping a settled group after excellent performances. Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers impressed in qualifying, starting five of England's eight group games, and has become the first-choice number 10.

"Rather than finding positions for my best players just so that I can have them on the field, I prefer to put everyone in their best positions and have some competition," Tuchel said when speaking about the pair going up against each other.

There is no denying Bellingham is one of the best midfielders in the world when he is fit and in form, but the midfielder is currently working his way back from a hamstring injury and has not played since 1 February. It's easy to forget that Bellingham is just 22, given he has already produced some iconic moments for England such as his last-gasp bicycle kick against Slovakia at Euro 2024 and his assist for Cole Palmer's goal in the final.

Tuchel has made a point about how his England team need to be settled and united, but if Bellingham is producing his best for Madrid at the end of the season, the England manager has a very difficult decision on his hands.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer, who has also had injury problems this season, has barely played under Tuchel, featuring for just 65 minutes. And Phil Foden's role is not clear in this England squad - he was called up as a back-up striker for the last camp and assisted Eberechi Eze in the win over Serbia at Wembley in November from that position.

It's never ideal going into a major tournament without knowing your first-choice centre-back partnership but that is where England are currently. Tuchel has spoken repeatedly about his admiration for John Stones but because of fitness issues, the defender has only been available for four of England's 10 games since he took over.

Aston Villa's Konsa started six of England's qualifiers and is certain to be part of the backline. Marc Guehi has missed two international camps under Tuchel through injury, but he was one of the standout players for England at Euro 2024 and then won the FA Cup with Crystal Palace before moving to title-chasing Manchester City.

Stones will be included if he is fit - but who Tuchel picks to start from those three leading into the summer will be intriguing. Meanwhile, Harry Maguire is making a late charge for the squad as the Red Devils continue their resurgence. With his history of performing for England on the big stage, the 33-year-old could be an option.

The left-back spot being a problem position is not new for England. Gareth Southgate opted to take Luke Shaw as his only natural left-back to the last major tournament with Kieran Trippier filling that position and Bukayo Saka also playing in a modified wing-back role.

During this qualifying campaign, Tuchel has used Myles Lewis-Skelly, Nico O'Reilly, James, Djed Spence and Tino Livramento as full-backs on the left.

O'Reilly has been excellent for both Manchester City and England this season but has now moved into midfield for his club side. Lewis Hall has missed most of the England camps under Tuchel through injury, although he played for the under-21s in November. He is performing well for Newcastle and the games against Uruguay and Japan give Tuchel a last chance to see how he would fit into his 4-2-3-1 system.

Left-back is definitely the spot in the England team that is currently the most open. Being the back-up striker to record goalscorer and England captain Kane is not an easy task. Ollie Watkins has had the role for the past couple of years but after scoring just two goals in his past 10 games for Villa, there is debate around who deserves to go to the World Cup in that role.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has had a good season for Leeds but his scoring rate has slowed down in recent weeks. The 35-year-old Brighton striker Danny Welbeck has signed a contract extension with the Seagulls and is having an excellent campaign with 10 goals in the Premier League. Welbeck has not played for England since a friendly against Switzerland in 2018, but has the quality and experience of playing in big matches for his country that could be beneficial to Tuchel.

Arsenal's Rice and Nottingham Forest's Anderson will be England's pivots in midfield with Adam Wharton the next on the list - Alex Scott of Bournemouth was called up last time out but did not get on the pitch.

When Tuchel names this squad it will make clear who still has a lot of work to do to make the plane in the summer. But with most places in the team solidified, it seems the big calls that remain are mainly around who can stake a claim to be in the wider squad.