Thomas Tuchel has recalled Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer to the England squad – and used his first squad announcement since the World Cup to declare himself ready to “embrace the chaos”. The England manager had left the United States in July pining for greater control. Two months on, ahead of four Nations League fixtures, the message has shifted.
England’s third-placed finish in the United States was the nation’s best performance at the World Cup since 1966, but the semi-final defeat to Argentina still lingers. In the aftermath of that loss, in which Anthony Gordon had given England the lead, Tuchel pointed to his team’s inability to find control as a key factor behind their late collapse.
“Football is about adapting to situations and football without any control is sometimes hard to digest for a coach, if you look at the 6-4 against France,” said Tuchel, referring to the World Cup bronze-medal match. “But people talk about it like it’s one of their nicest experiences ever, to watch a football match, so maybe I have to compromise in my wish for control, for a little bit more chaos, embrace the chaos, and maybe it brings out the best.”
The composition of the squad, however, points towards control rather than havoc. The returns of Alexander-Arnold and Palmer, two of English football’s most technically gifted players, sit alongside first call-ups for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, both of whom are extremely adept in possession. Tuchel appears to be searching for a balance between the two extremes.
There is one clear injection of unpredictability. Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha, 18, has received his first senior call-up after an exciting start to the season in which he has caught the eye with his invention and trickery down both flanks. Tuchel also revealed that Fulham attacker Josh King is close to earning a first senior call-up, a further sign that the manager wants to reinvigorate his forward line for the Nations League campaign and beyond.
Tuchel was asked whether his side could replicate the fast-paced approach of a Premier League team while retaining greater control. “That would be the wish, that we become for 10 minutes a little bit more like Spain, here and there,” he replied. “The more I reflect on it, it’s maybe more buying into our strengths and play more minutes like we played the second half against Croatia, and more minutes like we played the first half against France, and buying into these strengths, because I think we get a lot of value out of it, we get a lot of connection to the fans, this is what the Premier League reflects. We are maybe not the most economical team to play football but this is maybe also a characteristic of the Premier League. The Premier League is not a very economical league, you have to play. You need to max out every single match otherwise you cannot compete for the title so this is something more beautiful. But this is where we are, where I am in my mindset and I think where the players are, so it’s still a bit ambiguous.”
While Tuchel may lack total clarity on whether control or chaos is the way forward, he showed none over who he believes his best players are. He refuted assertions that recalling Palmer and Alexander-Arnold amounted to an admission that he had got his World Cup squad wrong, hinting he would have selected a broadly similar group had all his options been available. “Before we did the nomination in the last month, I thought we had more of a continuation of the World Cup squad but then a lot of members of our World Cup squad – Reece [James], Dan [Burn], Dean [Henderson], [John] Stones, [Jordan] Henderson, Djed Spence – can’t be with us due to injuries, so it is not like a full continuation,” he said. “These players were crucial for us in building the brotherhood, in building the spirit and taking care of the mentality that took us the long way in the tournament. We will not negotiate on that, we will not give in on that. So other players will step up, this is basically how I see this camp. My mindset at the moment is not to change too much within the formations.”
England host World Cup winners Spain at Wembley on Saturday, 26 September before travelling to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, 29 September and Croatia on Saturday, 3 October. The Czechs then visit on Tuesday, 6 October.