Hi, everyone. Thank you, as ever, for the outstanding questions. Let’s get into it.
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Carl Anka asks…
“Thomas Tuchel has around 24 in-game hours between now and the 2026 World Cup to figure out what sort of tune England are most comfortable playing. What do you think will be his most pressing (pardon the inadvertent pun) challenges?”
Carl might make the inadvertent pun here, but my hunch is that Thomas Tuchel’s England will largely avoid “pressing”. I think his first challenge is to set up a system in a pretty limited space of time that can handle tournament football in a hot climate after a long club season, and that doesn’t scream “high press” to me. So I would imagine trying to find a simple framework he can coach quickly without overexerting his players will be the first task.
The second question is pretty closely related to that: how much should he tailor the system to key stars? Let’s say Tuchel decides to make Trent Alexander-Arnold a crucial part of his England team. He might design a system that really relies on using the right back for creativity while covering for Trent’s defensive weaknesses. Then Trent could get injured before the tournament and the whole thing has been blown up with little time to change course. He’s going to have to make decisions on how much he wants to be relying on certain individuals. Which brings us to another question that can also be a part of this same answer. Old King Coal asks…
“Who will/should Tuchel pick for his upcoming first England squad? Given current availability etc.”
To start, he doesn’t have to decide on his number one goalkeeper just yet if he doesn’t want to. I’m going to guess that Jordan Pickford will be joined by Dean Henderson and Aaron Ramsdale. After that, he has choices.
Does he want to play a back three or a back four? As I’ve advocated before, I think playing a back four that becomes a three, with Trent moving into midfield from right back, solves a lot of issues. Tuchel can also pick Rico Lewis as a backup inverted right back. Considering the issues England had with a lack of balance at the Euros, I think a left footed defender is essential here. I’ve suggested Levi Colwill as a left back but becoming an auxiliary centre back (think Kyle Walker) before, which has kind of become a pet obsession for me. I’d throw a genuine left back in the squad just in case England need to change it up, which I’m guessing will be Tyrick Mitchell. That leaves room for four centre backs. With John Stones injured, I’m going to guess those four will be Marc Guéhi, Ezri Konsa, Jarrad Branthwaite and Fikayo Tomori.
I’m going to assume this is a broad 4-2-3-1 shape, so we need a midfield double pivot. Declan Rice is surely a starter there, but the other three names in the squad are up for grabs. Let’s go with Adam Wharton, Curtis Jones and, I don’t know, Lewis Cook? England aren’t blessed for depth here.
Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were the three players in the attacking midfield band at last summer’s Euros. Saka is not fit, but I’m sure the other two will be in the squad. Cole Palmer has to be a safe bet, though from there it’s anyone’s guess. To offer more directness, I’m guessing Anthony Gordon will be included. Let’s go with, say, Eberechi Eze and Harvey Barnes to fill out those spots.
Harry Kane will obviously be the first choice striker, and I’m going to guess that Ollie Watkins will be his backup. That gives us 23 players. Ithink Tuchel said he wanted to pick 24, so let’s add, I don’t know… one of his old favourites, Reece James. There, done.
Richard Hunter asks…
“If you woke up on 1st July as Director of Football of Liverpool, and you found that VVD, Salah and Trent had all left, who in the transfer market would you be looking at as potential replacements?”