England head coach Thomas Tuchel has never hidden from taking tough decisions or throwing down wild cards, so his eyebrow-raising World Cup squad follows true to form.
Whether it was leaving Jude Bellingham out of England’s squad when Real Madrid’s superstar wanted to be included, or announcing Harry Maguire was only fifth choice in central defence after an impressive return to international duty in March, Tuchel refuses to bend to the popular mood or a star system.
If predecessor Gareth Southgate was criticised for being cloaked in conservatism and playing it safe, Tuchel’s iron will in following his instincts has now effectively positioned himself as the anti-Southgate.
As ever, Tuchel had iron-clad confidence in his selection, saying: “We have specialists with us. Specialists for all kinds of different scenarios – when we are leading, when we are chasing a game, a result.
“We’ve always said we want to be a strong set-piece team, so we have specialists for that and we want to be a strong penalty team, we have specialists for that.”
Tuchel has mentioned “proof of concept” in the past, which will come in a matter of weeks, but there is no doubt there is a heavy element of a gambler’s roll of the dice in almost every position with this England squad.
