Thomas Tuchel told to make one England change for Ghana World Cup clash as Harry Maguire verdict delivered

England manager Thomas Tuchel should demote Ezri Konsa from the starting lineup for next week's World Cup 2026 matchday two clash with Ghana, a former Three Lions international has exclusively told Sports Mole.

The 1966 champions kicked off their bid for glory in style with a 4-2 victory over Croatia in Group L on Wednesday night, although they were handed two major scares by the Chequered Ones thanks to two instances of poor defending.

Following Harry Kane's opening penalty, Martin Baturina levelled for Croatia after John Stones slid in to make a tackle on Josip Stanisic, only to be left sprawled on the floor as the Bayern Munich defender cut back for Baturina to fire home.

Kane's record-equalling second goal then preceded Petar Musa clawing Croatia level again, thanks to Ezri Konsa's trailing leg playing Ivan Perisic onside before the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man headed the ball down for Musa to finish.

Second-half strikes from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford ensured that England's defensive lapses would not prove costly, but ex-Manchester United defender Brown believes that Tuchel should immediately tinker with his first XI.

Thomas Tuchel told to drop Ezri Konsa for England vs. Croatia

"I actually thought Marc Guehi would start last night, alongside John Stones," Brown told Sports Mole. "It was all a little bit shaky in the first half at times, we weren’t very decisive in defence.

"What I will say is that in the second half, everything was a lot better, including at the back. Croatia aren’t what they used to be, but they’re still a good team and we did well to beat them.

"Personally, I’d go with Stones and Guehi for the next game, with Ezri Konsa dropping out. They’ve been playing and training with each other at Manchester City for the past six months, so it’s a relatively experienced partnership.

"Stones and Konsa last night looked a bit nervy, so that’s what Thomas Tuchel will look at and try to sort out before the Ghana game."

All the while England were battling Croatia, Harry Maguire was forced to watch on from home, having been brutally snubbed from Tuchel's 26-man squad for the World Cup.

Did Thomas Tuchel make mistake over Harry Maguire England decision?

Since Maguire's senior international debut, England have never conceded two goals or more in the first half of a World Cup match with the Manchester United man in the squad, but Brown does not believe that Wednesday's dodgy display points to a mistake by Tuchel

"I don’t think Tuchel has made a mistake, based on the simple fact that England won the game," Brown added. "I think you can only say that if we got beaten.

"Tuchel will be a bit disappointed that those two goals went in in the first half, particularly after taking leads in the game. That’s just football though – you’re in the World Cup and concentration levels do drop, which means you’re occasionally going to concede goals to good teams.

"It’s a reminder to the defenders that they need to be better, but it’s not just the centre-backs – they have to do better all round in order to make us harder to play against."

Thanks to Ghana only beating Panama 1-0, England sit at the top of the World Cup Group L table on goal difference before next Tuesday's top-of-the-table battle.

Wes Brown was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of BetGoodwin.