Chelsea have had a whole host of players on international duty this week, including Marc Cucurella for Spain, Enzo Fernández for Argentina, Moises Caicedo for Ecuador, Pedro Neto for Portugal and, of course, Reece James for England.
Fernandez put in an excellent display against Brazil in Argentina’s 4-1 victory, scoring a goal, providing an assist, winning seven of his 11 contested duels in the match and therefore being awarded man of the match.
But perhaps the performance that got the most traction over this break was James linking back up with his old manager, Thomas Tuchel, at international level, and the usage of him as a right-back.
How Reece James performed for England
James only has 18 England caps so far, despite making his debut at 20-years-old under Gareth Southgate in October 2020.
Yet, after a wretched few years with injury, it didn’t look as though he’d get too many more opportunities to make his mark on the international stage. That was, until, Tuchel named in his first England squad last week.
Well, the 25-year-old came back into the team earlier this week, scoring his first interntaional goal with a scorching free-kick against Latvia in England’s 3-0 victory, also being awarded man of the match.
Tuchel, having worked with James in his time at Chelsea, awarded the defender with his first England start in two years when facing Latvia, starting as the right-back but having an interesting role in the game.
Indeed, for much of the match, James played as a right-sided centre-back in a back three, tucking inside whilst Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly inverted alongside Rice into midfield.
But for the final 11 minutes, James moved over to the left side of defence, stepping into that inverted midfield role, showing his versatility, something Chelsea fans have already seen a lot of this season under Enzo Maresca.
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Reece James vs Latvia performance |
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|---|---|
|
Stat |
James |
|
Minutes |
90 |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Touches |
118 |
|
Accurate Passes |
96/97 |
|
Key Passes |
1 |
|
Crosses |
2/3 |
|
Long Balls |
2/2 |
|
Ground Duels Won |
2/4 |
|
Tackles |
2 |
|
Interceptions |
2 |
|
Stats taken from Sofascore |
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James put in an excellent display, only misplacing one pass in the entire match, completing two out of two long balls and completing two of his three crosses, one of which could have resulted in an assist.
But he wasn’t the only player impressing for an England side on international duty, as one of Cobham’s stars featured heavily for the U19s.
Chelsea’s future England star
Chelsea’s Cobham star, Josh Acheampong, has captained England U19s twice whilst away on international duty, starting both times as a left-sided centre-back, despite naturally being a right-back/right-sided centre-back hybrid.
The 19-year-old defender is blessed with a long frame, standing at around 6 foot 3 and possesses superb athletic qualities already.
On top of this, Acheampong has composure on the ball, can progress play via his passing, but particularly with his excellent ability to carry the ball out from the back.
Maresca has already praised Acheampong, stating he was “our best player” when he made his first Premier League start against Crystal Palace.
Jacek Kulig has also labelled the defender as “dominant” whilst also calling him the “definition of a modern defender”.
Whether he is playing as a right-back or as one of the central defenders, Acheampong clearly has a very bright future ahead of him, for both Chelsea and England.