Thomas Tuchel’s bold 26-man England squad for the World Cup has been hammered by German media, with one leading newspaper describing it as ‘madness’.
Tuchel, England’s first ever German head coach, omitted a string of high profile players including Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Man City’s Phil Foden and Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold when he announced his squad for the tournament last week.
While it is true the trio have either been out of form or out of favour with their respective clubs this season, many fans still expected them to play some part in England’s World Cup campaign this summer – but Tuchel had other ideas.
Opting for a more balanced, cohesive and, in his words, ‘unselfish’ squad, Tuchel believes harmony and togetherness are more important than talent in England’s quest for a first major trophy in 60 years, and it’s clear rivals Germany disagree.
Sports editor of German newspaper BILD, Henning Feindt, wrote on Tuesday: ‘Tuchel has opted to leave out exceptional players like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Three of the ten most valuable players – CUT OUT.
‘That would be like (Germany manager Julian) Nagelsmann dropping (Florian) Wirtz and (Joshua) Kimmich from the team in addition to the out-of-form (Jamal) Musiala. In short: madness – but also incredibly exciting.’
Thomas Tuchel’s bold England squad for the World Cup has been hammered by German media
The journalist went on to claim that Tuchel, 52, will be out of a job as soon as England are knocked out after his controversial squad selection, if the Three Lions don’t go on to win the tournament.
Former England international Jamie Carragher has come out in defence of Tuchel’s 26-man squad, which is still blessed with talented superstars including Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice, insisting that
‘We were probably all surprised by one or two names missing out, but I really admired the manager and really it shouldn’t be too much of a shock when you think of the way he has spoken since he’s become the England manager, about how important harmony is within the camp,’ Carragher told Sky Sports.
‘And when I look at that camp, it just felt to me he picked harmony and energy over talent really. I listened to his press conference later on in the afternoon and I think he sort of reiterated that it wasn’t about the 26 most talented English players, putting something together in terms of a squad and a team once we get to the World Cup that can go as far in the tournament as it possibly can.
‘What he sees is as vitally important as actually being a team being together and it’s not about being individuals. As I said in my newspaper column, I wish he was the England manager when I played, because that was always something that was thrown at an England manager or England teams that I was involved in.’
Despite shocking world football with his squad selection, Tuchel’s approach could be the answer England need to finally get over the line in a major tournament.
Germany’s press believe it is ‘madness’ to leave out Phil Foden (left) and Cole Palmer (right)
During England’s so-called golden generation, managers were forced to compromise their tactics and philosophy somewhat to fit in the likes of Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham into one cohesive midfield, which proved costly in big matches.
Under Gareth Southgate, who enjoyed a more successful stint as England manager but still failed to end the country’s trophy drought, the Three Lions didn’t quite have enough to win Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 finals against Italy and Spain respectively.
Perhaps Tuchel’s preference of harmony over raw talent will prove the final missing piece of the jigsaw, even if he has left his own country and England’s greatest World Cup rivals astounded.
