Roy Keane and Thomas Tuchel have both praised Reece James after he returned to the England starting lineup with a fantastic goal in the 3-0 win over Latvia on Monday night.
James has had terrible luck with injuries in recent seasons, which had seen him fall down the England pecking order under Gareth Southgate. But the Chelsea skipper returned to full fitness earlier this year and has been played as a defensive midfielder at times by Enzo Maresca.
James’ former Chelsea boss Tuchel is now in charge of England and this has helped the right-back’s cause.
He came off the bench during the 2-0 victory over Albania on Friday and was then named in the starting XI ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
It was James’ first start for England since September 2022 and he marked it with his country’s opening goal.
After Myles Lewis-Skelly had drawn a foul 30 yards out, James stepped up to curl a free-kick over the wall and into the top corner in stunning fashion.
Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze joined James on the scoresheet as England made it two wins from two in their March qualifiers.
On ITV Sport’s coverage of the game, Keane compared James’ free-kick to one that England hero David Beckham would have scored.
“It reminds me of what David Beckham used to do, it’s very difficult to do,” he said.
Tuchel won the Champions League with James at Chelsea in 2021 and the pair clearly have a close bond, as shown by the manager’s praise for him after the game.
“There cannot be any doubt about Reece’s quality, it’s the highest level,” Tuchel said. “We were in close contact in the last weeks.
“We were clear he’d 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.”
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Tuchel discusses James’ midfield opportunities
The German continued: “If you play a dominant match like today he can be, like in the last 20 [minutes], a hybrid midfielder and help to create an overload because he has the quality on the ball.
“Once it’s an open game and a lot of transitions through midfield I’m not so sure it would suit him perfectly.”
Tuchel added: “I know the quality he has in that [right] foot – it’s amazing. He has every right to be happy and proud of his performance. He’s in excellent shape.
“When we called him up he hadn’t had many games but it wasn’t due to injury, they were just taking care and managing him. He looks sharp and in shape. With his quality, there can be no doubt.”
James’ selection was aided by an injury to fellow right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold. But if James continues to impress Tuchel in the coming months, then he could put himself in firm contention for regular starts with the national team once again.
Chelsea news: Blues capture ‘generational talent’
Meanwhile, Chelsea fans can start to get excited about new signing Geovany Quenda, who will move to Stamford Bridge in summer 2026.
His Sporting CP team-mate Ivan Fresneda has said fans will ‘go mad’ over the right winger’s insane talent.
Portuguese analyst Mariana Fernandes has also labelled the 17-year-old a ‘generational talent’ who is ‘ready to play’ for a top club such as Chelsea.
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