A 35-man England squad three months before a World Cup looks like uncertainty. But Thomas Tuchel’s decision to name a bloated England squad for the upcoming friendlies with Uruguay and Japan may be the opposite.
Tuchel’s split-camp approach suggests he already trusts his core and is using the matches to decide on final squad places and give his senior players a rest. The question is if the freshness he gains is worth the cohesion he gives up.
The German’s bumper squad list is the largest ever named for a Three Lions training camp – even outnumbering those named by his predecessors in pre-tournament squads.
But don’t confuse Tuchel’s decision to call up a huge swathe of players this close to the World Cup as a sign he’s yet to fully grasp who his best players are. In some ways, it’s a sign of his confidence.
By dividing this international camp in two by inviting so many fringe players along for that first match against Uruguay, he’s essentially making the fixture a glorified England B match.
Test out some faces he’s unsure about to inform his selection decisions for the lesser places in his squad, but are unlikely to play too much of a role when the real action gets underway.
It’s a smart way to firm up the final 26 Tuchel wants to take with him to North America, giving his senior players some time off in a gruelling schedule that he’ll hope will stretch until the World Cup final on 19th July.
The breathing space he provides to his over-worked charges in such an intense part of the season could provide some welcome respite and freshness in those crucial moments this summer. But it does come with its risks.
One of the main issues that international managers struggle with is a lack of time with their players. They’re often watching on from the stands and having sporadic conversations with squad members while they focus on domestic priorities.
There’s scant time on the training ground to work on tactics, while ideas need to be communicated more succinctly than in the club game. It’s this time when partnerships grow and players learn to understand each other’s quirks, while squad bonds are formed to breed a camp environment that allows players to slip seamlessly into.
Again and again, the strongest tournament teams arrive with a settled social and tactical order. Players know who leads, who starts, who finishes games and what the camp feels like – that predictability gives them an edge, whereas too much change is disruptive.
Tuchel appears to have been building this already, with previously settled squads in recent windows and consistent starting line-ups in big games.
Time together is sacrosanct, so while Tuchel’s idea to reduce a senior England meet to a few days and one fixture may make sense in theory, it’s a brave call to make voluntarily.
Compare it to some of the other favourites to challenge for the World Cup –such as France, Spain and Brazil – and they’ve opted for smaller squads to take part across both of their matches.
The former Chelsea boss has spoken on several occasions about how he’s studied the nuances of the international game since taking the England job, so he’ll be aware of the trade-offs he’s making.
Tuchel has made an unprecedented call. But he’s doing it from a confident place, although he’ll hope it doesn’t look like lost time when it really matters this summer.
