The Three Lions will tackle a pair of June fixtures as part of their second camp under Gareth Southgate's permanent successor

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The never-ending 2024-25 season has spilled over into June's round of international fixtures, right on the eve of the revamped Club World Cup. It's all the football all the time, to loosely paraphrase David Mitchell.

Some of you may have even forgotten that England are back in action this week, with the Three Lions facing Andorra in Barcelona (for some strange reason) in a qualifier for the 2026 World Cup, before returning home to face Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest's City Ground. This is only Thomas Tuchel's second window in charge of England and there is relatively limited time for him to get to know his players further before the finals.

The big winners from the March internationals were the unlikely duo of Dan Burn and Myles Lewis-Skelly, while solidified favourites Harry Kane and Declan Rice showed why they are still two core members of the team moving forward, so who else needs to prove their worth to the boss? GOAL runs through seven players with everything to play for…

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportCole Palmer

Bar the (ever-increasing) danger of a serious injury in the modern game, there isn't any other conceivable reason to believe Cole Palmer won't be on the plane to North America next summer. The real question is in regards to his role – will he be a starter or first off the bench?

Midway through 2024-25, Palmer's Chelsea performances had been so fantastic over an 18-month stretch that it seemed he would be shoehorned into any Three Lions line up possible, even with Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham playing in similar areas of the pitch to him. There was talk he alone stood as the Premier League's best player altogether.

But the ice-cold sensation has cooled off since, notably and infamously scoring only three times and adding three assists in the league in 2025. He has also been accused of only being able to thrive in transition, with the limits of his game racing to the surface when trying to break down low or mid-blocks. Nevertheless, Palmer still has credit in the bank at international level having scored in last year's Euro 2024 final, though after missing Tuchel's first camp through injury, he's playing catch-up against his positional rivals.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTrent Alexander-Arnold

Another player who was forced to miss the March internationals is Trent Alexander-Arnold, now officially of Real Madrid and who will likely have one eye on the Club World Cup with his new team later this month. He can't let his eye wander in an England shirt any longer, however.

Believe it or not, Euro 2024 was Alexander-Arnold's first major international tournament where he played major minutes, having scarcely featured at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups while he missed Euro 2020 with injury. Even then, he largely played in midfield in a doomed experiment that was abandoned after the group stage. Despite his obvious quality and stacked CV of achievements at the highest level, he's only earned 33 caps at senior level.

Alexander-Arnold has largely been an afterthought in the international setup, and he's going to have to wrestle the right-back spot off of Tuchel's old Chelsea favourite Reece James if he's to feature as a starter at a World Cup for the first time.

Getty Images SportDean Henderson

Prior to every tournament for the last eight years, the English public have questioned Jordan Pickford's credentials as the Three Lions' starting goalkeeper, and each time he has come back swinging. Even now, with 75 caps under his belt and season-upon-season of impressive showings at Everton, there are still naysayers to his ability and influence.

Once more, there have been murmurs that Pickford is facing trial under new manager Tuchel to prove he should keep the No.1 shirt. If he at any point falters, then Dean Henderson would be the top contender to step in. Having jumped around from club to club all career, the 28-year-old is now settled at Crystal Palace and was a primary reason why they won this season's FA Cup.

Henderson, like Pickford, is a bit mad between the sticks and shares that same northern charisma. The difference between them might only be their shot-stopping abilities, and the Eagles goalkeeper will be eager to take his chance should it arise over the next week.

Getty Images SportAnthony Gordon

This time last year, the Three Lions faithful were pleading with Gareth Southgate to let Anthony Gordon spread his wings down England's left flank, with a stale team in need of pace and runners. Fast-forward 12 months and the wide-man's place in the squad is not quite as secure, nor is there a clamour for him to play a starring role.

Gordon is still one of the most electric wingers eligible to represent the country, though he's coming off a fairly underwhelming season on a personal level in spite of Newcastle's successful campaign, which ended with Carabao Cup glory without the suspended Scouser and qualification to the Champions League. He also had his thunder stolen a little by Harvey Barnes, whose return of nine goals and five assists was superior to Gordon's six of each.

With Eberechi Eze in the form of his life and Noni Madueke putting in some quality displays for Chelsea on the left, Gordon is facing a battle to merely stay relevant in Tuchel's thinking. He can't hide behind the annoyances of foul-baiting and runs down dead ends any longer.