Thomas Tuchel has already made some firm decisions ahead of his first tournament as England manager, and has gained the praise of Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.
The former Blues boss has shown he specialises in tournament football during his time at Stamford Bridge, where he won the Champions League in 2021.
Their time together in West London has seen Reece James become a crucial player in his side, although there was no room for Cole Palmer or Levi Colwill in the squad.
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Reece James
Cole Palmer
Joao Pedro
Estevao Willian
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Josh Acheampong
Levi Colwill
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Frank Lampard praises England manager Thomas Tuchel ahead of 2026 World Cup
The Three Lions got their preparations in North America underway with a 1-0 win over New Zealand, where James impressed in his 45 minutes on the pitch.
When asked about England’s chances at the World Cup and some of the brutal squad decisions made by Tuchel, his predecessor at Chelsea, Frank Lampard, was full of praise for the German ahead of the tournament.
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He said to ‘The Inside Channel‘: “I certainly have that optimism. I think it’s a strong squad, and we’ve got a strong manager and coaching staff.
“I think from his point of view, and because I live in those shoes slightly in modern management, I’m never too drawn to critique. I obviously have an opinion, but so does everybody, so whatever squad Thomas Tuchel chooses, everyone’s going to say ‘why not him, why him’, and all those things, I think that comes with the territory.
“But what you must be as a manager is firm with your beliefs, and absolutely have good reasoning for those beliefs, and I think in Thomas’ interviews around the selections it sounded like he had good reasoning, good ideas to see the benefit of the whole squad.
“I think that is a progression of where we are as a nation. At this point, we all in this job get judged on results, but at this point I think we have to be firm behind the manager. He’s been quite clear with his reasoning, and he’s picked a squad he thinks can go there and compete.”
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Lampard linked with new Premier League job
After the usual links of Lampard returning to Stamford Bridge ahead of the hiring of Xabi Alonso, he has remained a target of other Premier League clubs ahead of next season.
Fellow West Londoners Fulham have been linked with hiring Lampard after Marco Silva has been confirmed to be departing the club this summer.
Crystal Palace are also reportedly interested in Lampard taking over, as they look to keep the good times going without Oliver Glasner at the helm.
There may just be an appetite for him to continue the journey with Coventry City, after he helped them to promotion to the top flight last season.
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