Six talking points from Tuchel’s England squad announcement
Six talking points from Tuchel’s England squad announcement England boss Thomas Tuchel has named a huge 35-man squad ahead of international friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley Stadium. With the FIFA World Cup less than three months away, we look at the biggest takeaways from his latest squad announcement Six talking points from Tuchel’s England squad announcement Split squad Tuchel has taken the novel approach of effectively picking two squads for these upcoming matches. The first half of the camp will give him the chance to look at players who he hasn’t seen up close, such as James Garner, whose recent good form at Everton has earned him his first call-up.
The second half will see 11 established internationals come in, giving them a rest before returning to the fold and mixing with some of the new group from Saturday morning onwards. Tuchel could have easily stuck with continuity, calling up only the players most likely to go to the World Cup, but he’s given 13 players a golden chance to stake their claim. It will be fascinating to see which ones he retains and which ones he sends home for the Japan game, as it may offer to clue to his plans for the summer.
No Alexander-Arnold It’s not the first time Trent Alexander-Arnold has been left out of an England squad, but this feels consequential, even this far out from the World Cup. Tuchel explained that he already knows what the right-back brings to the team, so he wants to use this opportunity to look at other options. On the face of it, he wants to expand their depth at that position, which makes sense after Reece James suffered another injury setback.
But it’s a peculiar decision given Alexander-Arnold has played just once for England since the German stepped into the dugout. If there were no doubts about his place at the World Cup, surely you would be calling him up to make certain he’s fully compatible with your tactical setup? It’s an ominous sign for the 27-year-old, who has scarcely shown his best for the Three Lions and has failed to set the world alight since swapping Liverpool for Real Madrid.
Don’t be surprised if this is Tuchel’s way of gently pushing him out. Read – Why Alexander-Arnold and Watkins aren’t in the England squad Mainoo returns It was only a few months ago that it seemed like Kobbie Mainoo’s Manchester United career was all but over. An England recall was the furthest thing from his mind as he pondered the next in his career.
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