Marc Guehi's transition to Manchester City has failed to live up to expectations, according to pundit Tony Cascarino, who highlighted the England defender's alarming drop in form following Saturday's 3-2 Nations League defeat to Spain at Wembley. The centre-back's nightmare evening was epitomised in the opening moments when he was dispossessed by Lamine Yamal just two minutes in, gifting the newly crowned world champions an early lead that set the tone for a chaotic defensive display. Cascarino's assessment on talkSPORT's Weekend Sports Breakfast cut to the heart of a troubling issue: Guehi simply isn't performing at anywhere near the level he achieved during his prolific spell at Crystal Palace—the form that ultimately secured his January switch to the Etihad Stadium.
The contrast between Guehi's performances before and after his move to Pep Guardiola's side is stark, according to the former Chelsea and Republic of Ireland striker. While Guehi made a promising start under Guardiola, his form has deteriorated since Enzo Maresca took charge. "Defensively, England look really short at the moment," Cascarino observed. "Marc Guehi was playing superbly this time last year. After initially a good start at City, I don't think he's played to the same level as what he did at Palace." This assessment underscores a broader defensive fragility that concerned observers feel could undermine England's aspirations under new manager Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed partly to provide the coaching edge needed to turn tight matches in England's favour.
England's loss to Spain was the team's first outing since finishing third at this summer's World Cup, where Tuchel drew intense criticism over his tactical decisions as England squandered a 1-0 advantage to lose 2-1 to Argentina in the semi-finals. Against Spain, England showed resilience in mounting a comeback through goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane to lead at half-time, but ultimately couldn't hold on. Kane's penalty struck the underside of the crossbar before Spain's substitutes turned the tide, with Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal scoring to seal a Spanish victory. Notably, Guehi wasn't alone in receiving scrutiny—his Manchester City teammate Nico O'Reilly was also among three England players rated 2/10 by talkSPORT's Adrian Durham for their contributions.
Questions arose about whether Manchester City's announcement on Friday of a Premier League financial rules breach might have affected the two City players' performances, though England legend Stuart Pearce dismissed this theory as unlikely. "I wouldn't think so," Pearce responded. "I'll be very, very surprised if that is the case." Instead, Pearce attributed the lapses to defensive vulnerabilities, noting that City's dominance-based playing style sometimes makes it harder for their players to adapt to intense pressing situations. "The bottom line is City are so used to dominating the ball, sometimes they've got to check out – recycle it and whatever," he explained. "Tonight there was some good pressing from the Spaniards, and it caught us out."