James Garner eyes Spain test after Tuchel praise
Is back in Thomas Tuchel’s England plans and wants a crack at Spain in the Nations League after being compared to Federico Valverde. The Everton midfielder…
LONDON — James Garner is in line for another England chance as Thomas Tuchel prepares for Saturday’s Nations League meeting with Spain, and the Everton midfielder says he wants the challenge. Garner, who impressed on debut against Uruguay, has been told by Tuchel that he is a “mini Valverde”.
The timing matters. Garner is back in contention for what would be his third England appearance after injuries ruled out Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo, opening a path into Tuchel’s midfield plans. He is now looking at Spain’s Rodri as the kind of opponent that can show where he stands.
“It’s a very good comparison,” Garner says of Tuchel’s Valverde remark in the Guardian interview. He is not brushing it off. The Everton player knows the praise came after Tuchel watched him against Uruguay in March, when the England manager singled out his energy and versatility.
Garner is not a one-position midfielder, and that remains part of his appeal. He wants to operate centrally, but he can also play at right-back or on the wing. That flexibility helped him catch Tuchel’s eye, and it has kept him in the frame as England reshape their midfield options.
Garner’s route back into the England picture
His rise has been steady. Garner found strong form for Everton from the turn of the year and won his first England call-up, even if he was later left out of the World Cup squad. Tuchel instead took Jordan Henderson and Kobbie Mainoo as midfield cover behind Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson. Henderson played six minutes as a substitute at the tournament; Mainoo did not feature.
Now the picture has shifted again. Garner’s second chance has come with more urgency, and he sounds ready for it. “It was a tough phone call [from Tuchel] because you don’t know whether it’s a yes or a no,” Garner said, describing the uncertainty around selection. The call eventually delivered the answer he wanted.
Spain gives him a direct measuring stick. Garner told the Guardian he sees Rodri as “the ultimate test”, and he is not shy about the scale of the task. Rodri is a key figure for Spain, and Garner knows England will need control in midfield if they are to deal with him.
There is another detail inside Tuchel’s camp that explains why Garner keeps surfacing. Among England’s central midfielders, only Elliot Anderson has recorded more tackles per league game than him. That work rate may matter if Tuchel sticks with a two-man central midfield pairing and asks his players to do plenty without the ball.
Garner has also already shown he can handle Spain on a big stage. He helped England beat Spain in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final. This time the stage is bigger, the stakes sharper, and the opponent carrying a Ballon d’Or into midfield. Garner is still chasing a regular place, and Saturday offers him the kind of assignment that can speed that up fast.
Source: thetimes.com
