Thomas Tuchel has named his squad for the March internationals with the German’s next selection being the squad for upcoming World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico
Thomas Tuchel has named a bloated squad for the March internationals(Image: Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel has turned into a combination of the dream maker and breaker. Because he appears to have ended some World Cup hopes – and revived others – with his latest England squad.
The German has named a bloated squad of 35 for his final international camp before heading to the United States for the finals this summer. Thirteen have been included who were not in Tuchel’s last group.
Lucky for some? Perhaps. But not when it comes to Real Madrid superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The full-back is the most glaring omission from Tuchel‘s latest squad. And it means Alexander-Arnold can start visiting the travel agents to book a sunshine break on a beach somewhere this summer.
The rejection will add more woe to what has been a difficult season for him in the Spanish capital. He has struggled for form and fitness at Real.
And Tuchel is right to ignore Alexander-Arnold. Reece James, when fit, is twice the defender Alexander-Arnold is.
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His Achilles heel remains stopping goals, not creating them. And Tuchel knows he is unable to trust him, when a tournament reaches the latter stages and the one mistake can prove fatal.
Tuchel’s refusal to recall Luke Shaw feels equally brutal, not least because England are not blessed with an abundance of left backs. Shaw has been in good form for Manchester United in recent weeks.
But his chances of ever gracing the World Cup stage again now feel dead and buried. Yet these are the big decisions Tuchel gets paid the big bucks to make.
Like most England managers to have preceded him in the job, he has his favourites. Which is reflected in the fact he has included John Stones, despite the fact he’s been injured and has made just 15 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City this season.
The call speaks volumes for how much faith Tuchel still has in Stones. What else have we learned?
Common sense is not something you’d put at the top of the lost of Tuchel’s strengths. Because he is not afraid of springing surprises from left field.
But there is a hefty dose of the stuff sprinkled throughout this squad, reflected in the decisions to recall Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Lewis Hall.
Manchester United duo Maguire and Mainoo and fully deserving of an international lifeline. As is Hall, who now has a wonderful chance to become England’s first choice left back.
Tuchel will split the squad into two groups for the upcoming friendlies. This will allow him to rest some of those he knows all about, while running the rule over those he doesn’t – which includes the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, James Garner, Dominic Solanke and Adam Wharton. It’s an interesting approach from Tuchel.
But we learned long before this latest squad announcement, that he’s a manager who definitely likes to do things his way. And all supporters can do now is sit back and hope it works.
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