Thomas Tuchel’s stance on England squad selection reveals a fundamental misjudgment of the delicate ecosystem that separates club and international football.
TUCH FIGHT CLUB Three Lions boss on collision course with Arteta & Co as he refuses to rest stars Daily Mirror24 Mar 2025JOHN CROSS TAKING THE MIK? Tuchel was not impressed that Arteta played Rice when Arsenal were 7-1 up THOMAS TUCHEL says he’ll do club bosses no favours... because they do none for England. Tuchel, ready to put himself on a collision course with Premier League managers, even took Mikel Arteta to task after Arsenal used Declan Rice in back-to-back Champions League games despite winning the first leg 7-1. Pep Guardiola is one of several Premier League gaffers to have voiced anger about England callups, especially after John Stones returned from international duty injured. But even though Tuchel managed Chelsea and has personal experience of the club-vcountry stand-off, the Three Lions boss says he wants to pick a strong line-up against Latvia at Wembley tonight, not caring about big club games that are imminent. Tuchel said: “After a 7-1 first-leg win Declan Rice played in the second leg with Arsenal so I don’t have the feeling that they think too much about us. I don’t think we have to break our heads about this. I take care of the players but it would be the wrong signal to tell them: ‘Hey you have tough club matches coming up so I am resting you now.’ “We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us, we monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs and we won’t take any unprofessional risks. “I don’t want the players to be injured, I want the players to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it. But in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care of themselves.” Tuchel will make changes against Latvia, with the England boss revealing Anthony Gordon (top) would have started but for injury. Gordon’s absence could mean a start for Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
Mirror 24 March 2025
Thomas Tuchel’s assertion that he owes Premier League clubs no favours, even after acknowledging the strain on their squads, betrays a short-sightedness from a manager who should know better.
His swipe at Mikel Arteta for selecting Declan Rice in the second leg of a 7-1 Champions League tie was not only misdirected but seemed completely unnecessary.
“After a 7-1 first-leg win Declan Rice played in the second leg with Arsenal so I don’t have the feeling that they think too much about us,” said Tuchel when speaking about resting players to help their clubs. His comments come as England prepare to face Latvia in the UEFA Nations League, a side ranked 140th by FIFA, 136 places below Tuchel’s side.
“I don’t think we have to break our heads about this. I take care of the players but it would be the wrong signal to tell them: ‘Hey you have tough club matches coming up so I am resting you now.’
“We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us, we monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs and we won’t take any unprofessional risks.
LONDON, ENGLAND: Myles Lewis-Skelly of England celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 European Qualifier between England and Albania at Wembley Stadium on March 21, 2025. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
“I don’t want the players to be injured, I want the players to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it. But in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care of themselves.”
But the stakes here aren’t the same.
Clubs don’t just “take care of themselves.” They pay the salaries. They manage the injuries. They carry the weight of development, long-term medical care, and the backlash when things go wrong. Case in point during this international break: Riccardo Calafiori.
MILAN, ITALY: Riccardo Calafiori of Italy goes down with an injury and is checked on by Antonio Ruediger of Germany during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal leg one match between Italy and Germany at Stadio San Siro on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images
The 22-year-old has already suffered two muscle injuries and two knee setbacks this season. The latest came while on duty with Italy in a Nations League quarter-final, a competition that, for most fans and clubs, barely registers beyond a glorified friendly.
Italy confirmed that Calafiori suffered a knee ligament injury against Germany. Though initial signs suggest it is not serious, Arsenal will still be without him for at least two to three weeks, a period that could include the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
This is not abstract risk. These are tangible costs.
MILAN, ITALY - MARCH 20: Riccardo Calafiori of Italy reacts during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal leg one match between Italy and Germany at Stadio San Siro on March 20, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images
If Calafiori misses both Fulham and Everton, then potentially Madrid and Brentford, those are season-defining fixtures lost to an international match that, from the club’s point of view, adds little value. It’s Arsenal who suffer in the league standings, in the Champions League race, and in the margins of trophies, not Italy, and certainly not any international manager.
Clubs are legally bound to release players. They provide the fitness data. They manage recovery and peak conditioning. And when players break, like Calafiori last week, it’s not Wembley that picks up the pieces. It’s London Colney.
Tuchel, of all people, should know this. He has coached through injury crises, selection dilemmas, and fixture congestion. He has relied on the good faith of international coaches to manage workloads, just as now others rely on his.
“I don’t want the players to be injured… but in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care of themselves.”
That’s not balance. That’s a shrug. And in elite sport, the margins are too thin for indifference.
Arsenal don’t just “take care of themselves.” They carry the consequences when countries push too far. When Calafiori goes down, Arteta is the one answering questions, not Luciano Spalletti. When Rice gets overplayed, it’s Arsenal’s season, not England’s, that derails.
Until Tuchel learns the difference, club managers and fans will continue to look on international football with suspicion, and rightly so.
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