- Thomas Tuchel suggest England’s recent performances have been too slow
- Tuchel explained his selections of Jordan Henderson and Myles Lewis-Skelly
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why the League Cup final is Newcastle’s to lose
Thomas Tuchel has devised a 60-day crash course for his new England squad to go from nearly men to lifting the World Cup.
The Three Lions boss has six international windows before America next summer, starting on Monday when his 26-man squad meet up for qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Tuchel admitted it gives the new coaching staff little time to implement their ideas but is planning to herald in a new style of play that is more in line with Premier League teams.
The German suggested that England’s recent performances have been too slow and wants to change the pace in which they operate.
‘It needs to reflect the Premier League, it’s a very physical and direct league,’ Tuchel said. ‘We should be brave enough to play like an England squad, not copy other nations and other styles too much.
‘It should reflect the values of the country and the strongest league in the world. We will try to implement a direct, attacking style, try to increase our rhythm and the intensity in our game and do it from a crash course from Monday and unleash the potential for Friday [against Albania].
England boss Thomas Tuchel has vowed to bring Premier League football to the national side
Tuchel, who confirmed Harry Kane remains captain, wants England to play with a direct style
Tuchel labelled Henderson as a ‘serial winner’ as he defended the midfielder’s England recall
‘Not a lot is missing. Obviously it’s missing a little bit. The feeling is that it’s just a little step to bring it over the line.
‘If we want to be prepared to be in the next final, we have to do it now in the first camp. We only have six camps, only have 60 days. We have to take care of every single day. If we do this hopefully the last step takes care of itself.’
Tuchel has held extensive discussions with former interim boss Lee Carsley at St George’s Park to determine how flexible the squad can be from a tactical perspective.
But the new manager – whose appearance at Wembley after announcing the squad was watched by his coaching team and FA technical director John McDermott – offered surprises by way of a shock recall for Jordan Henderson despite a lack of starts for Ajax.
‘Jordan is an easy one, he’s a serial winner, he’s captain of Ajax,’ Tuchel added. ‘He’s played a lot of matches.
‘He brings leadership, character, personality and energy to make sure everyone lives by the standards.
‘With his characteristics he embodies everything about and what our fans can be proud of. Jordan embodies everything of what we want from this team to be.’
Tuchel also revealed the emotionally challenging decision around Myles Lewis-Skelly and whether the 18-year-old was being promoted too soon.
Tuchel admitted he considered if Myles Lewis-Skelly was being promoted too soon
‘With injuries lately and the latest from Lewis Hall, we ran out of left footers,’ the 51-year-old said.
‘We were always impressed with Myles. He became a regular so quick for Arsenal. Huge confidence at his club.
‘I can understand that it feels like we’ve fast forwarded a career that is always on a fast pace. The talks we had were a bit of a parental, a protective vibe not to nominate him.
‘Let him go to the Under 21s, a bit out of the spotlight. Is it our responsibility not to take him? But in the end with his quality and maturity we decided to take him.’
