England's manager, Thomas Tuchel, said he has never had any doubt about the quality of Reece James after the right side marked his first international beginning in two years when he scored the first game in Monday's 3-0 victory over Latvia.
The 25 -year -old went to England on his way to a comfortable world cup classification victory in Wembley with a sublime free throwing from the first half while Tuchel picked up his second victory in so many games since he took over.
James made his debut in England in 2022, but has been limited to 17 caps due to a succession of injuries. An injury at Trent Alexander-Arnold opened the door to James to return to the Alignment Bajo Tuchel, who trained James at Chelsea of 2021-2022.
“There can be no doubt about Reece's quality, it is the highest level,” Tuchel told journalists. “We were in close contact in recent weeks.
“We were clear that he had trained without pause and if he didn't play it was the choice of the club, protecting him. We knew he was in a good space mentally.
“If you play a dominant game like today, it can be, as in the last 20 [minutes]A hybrid midfielder and helps create an overload because he has the quality in the ball. “
James has played only 14 games in all competitions for Chelsea this season, with the club managing his minutes given his injury problems.
“I know the quality it has in that foot: it's amazing. He has every right to be happy and proud of his performance. He is in excellent form,” Tuchel said.
“When we call it, I had not had many games, but it was not due to an injury, they were just taking care and driving it. It looks good and in shape.”
