Thomas Tuchel wanted continuity. England’s manager intended to build on the positives of a World Cup campaign that ended in a semi-final defeat to Argentina in North America, and his squad for the four-match Nations League window that opened a new international cycle was not supposed to be defined by radical change. Injuries made sure it was.
Tuchel already knew when he named his group in mid-September that a clutch of World Cup players would be missing, and he lost another handful after the announcement. By the final match of the four, the Czechia game at Wembley on Tuesday night, further withdrawals had left him able to count only 12 players who had been available to him during the World Cup.
The results gave him reason to be positive. A defeat to Spain was followed by three wins — two against Czechia, either side of a 7-0 dismantling of Croatia in Rijeka. Tuchel and his staff used the window to road-test an updated game model as they sought to move on from the devastation of the Argentina defeat. The principles stayed in place, but players were given greater freedom over where they could roam, encouraged to trust their instincts and take risks, all within a framework in which covering for a teammate was fundamental.
There are always winners and losers from an international camp, and they felt more pronounced on this occasion because of the timing: the sense of a fresh start, the desire to turn the page after Argentina. It was always going to be a tone-setter for the ultimate goal of Euro 2028 glory. The biggest winners were Alex Scott and Lewis Hall, with Myles Lewis-Skelly earning an honourable mention. James Trafford pushed his claim to supplant Jordan Pickford as first-choice goalkeeper, and Trent Alexander-Arnold made his mark.
Tuchel’s message to those who were absent was blunt. “It is always like this,” he said. “Everyone should be desperate to come because the train is rolling. Full credit to the players who bought in to that. We can only put our full energy into the camp and the players who are in camp. They make the camp special.”
Tuchel described Scott and Hall as “really excellent”. In Scott’s case, the manager can barely contain his excitement. Scott impressed when he came on as a 70th-minute substitute on his debut against Czechia in Prague, and was very good from the start against Croatia, catching the eye with his smoothness on the half turn and his dynamic surges. When Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, spoke on Monday about fluid, hard-running midfielders, he name-checked three: Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson and Scott.
The frustration is that Scott aggravated a thigh problem against Croatia and is out for two months, ruling him out of November’s matches against Croatia and Spain. Tuchel had worked with him in November 2025 and at the pre-World Cup camp in Florida, and he saw a player transformed. “Alex came in here now and was on a completely new level,” he said. “He was super strong.”
Lewis-Skelly also had a positive window, with Tuchel counting on him as a midfielder rather than a left-back for the first time. The 20-year-old started three of the games and came on as a 79th-minute substitute against Croatia. The worry was how he collected bookings in both matches against Czechia, leaving him suspended for the home game against Croatia. Tuchel admitted, rather surprisingly, that he had not been aware of Tuesday’s yellow card at Wembley, and he knows his players must stay out of red-card territory.
Hall took his chance at left-back after Nico O’Reilly played against Spain and was then forced to withdraw. Hall started each of the subsequent games — “three top matches from him”, in Tuchel’s words — and, plainly in possession of the shirt, deserves to keep it in November. That is bad news for O’Reilly and for Djed Spence, who has not yet played this season.
The right-back position is more complicated. Alexander-Arnold, recalled to the squad in surprise fashion, could hardly have done more with his starting opportunities in both Czechia games. There was a lovely cross for Anthony Gordon’s breakthrough goal in Prague and a driving, attack-minded performance at Wembley. But when Reece James, Tino Livramento and Spence are available, Tuchel has previously made it plain that he considers all three to be ahead of him. The manager said he might have called up Ben White if he were fit, and he also has Jarell Quansah at his disposal, even if the Bayer Leverkusen player would rather be considered in central defence — which is where Tuchel started him against Czechia at Wembley, ahead of Trevoh Chalobah and Jarrad Branthwaite.
There are clear losers, too. Kobbie Mainoo is a potential casualty of the emergence of Scott and Lewis-Skelly. Tuchel was at pains to sympathise with the Manchester United midfielder over the injury that forced his withdrawal, particularly after he did not play him for a single minute at the World Cup, but with Rice certain to return after an agreed rest and James Garner in the frame, Mainoo has work to do. The same applies to Jordan Henderson, who was not up to speed fitness-wise after breaking his arm at the World Cup.
Cole Palmer has found himself under an unforgiving spotlight after his withdrawal, particularly after Tuchel questioned whether he wanted to play for England, and it looks a long way back for the Chelsea No 10. The same is true of Phil Foden. Both were overlooked when Tuchel gave a late call-up to Morgan Gibbs-White, and neither looks an easy fit for the team’s aggressive style. Asked whether they were, Tuchel said: “I don’t know. That is the honest answer. They were not here. This team took another step and it’s always about the guys who are here.”
Attention now turns to November. Tuchel will hope to see John Stones recover his fitness and form at Inter, with a belief that the centre-back’s move to Serie A, where the tempo is slower, can help him find his rhythm. Marcus Rashford will be expected to return; he has credit in the bank with Tuchel, even if Gordon has nailed down the starting spot on the left wing. Noni Madueke will be hoping to stage a comeback on the right after being dropped.
The strikers in the Saudi Pro League, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney, were also dropped. Tuchel now sees Jude Bellingham as the back-up No 9 to Harry Kane, and he gave Dominic Calvert-Lewin only brief substitute appearances against Spain and Czechia at Wembley. The train hurtles on.