Tuchel rules out Premier League calls over England rotation

Thomas Tuchel has ruled out taking calls from Premier League managers about his players' minutes, and said he would prefer not to rotate at all, after England's 3-2 defeat by Spain at Wembley on Saturday.

The Nations League break asks a lot of them. England are at Czechia in Prague on Tuesday, then at Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday, then host Czechia at Wembley next Tuesday. The Daily Mail reports that they must win in Prague to have any realistic chance of taking the group. Tuchel told reporters the defeat "puts a bit of pressure of course but nothing we can't handle".

He called the idea of resting players or sharing a half "madness". His ideal, he said, is to keep six or seven players who start one game starting the next, so they feel the trust. He added that he is not sure that is possible. Of Prague he said there was "no room for managing or an economic style".

Harry Kane is, in Tuchel's words as reported by the Evening Standard, "desperate to start all four" games in this run.

One player has been spared. Declan Rice, the Arsenal midfielder, is not in the 24-man squad. Rice watched the Spain match from the stands at Wembley.

If England drop points in Prague, the argument over minutes could return. Tuchel would then face questions about whether the squad he insists on keeping intact can last four games in eight days.