The German has made some bold calls with his first squad and he could definitely do with some of his gambles paying off immediately
Thomas Tuchel's England era is about to get under way, with the Three Lions kicking off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday with a game against Albania at Wembley. It's certainly not the sexiest of fixtures, with the visitors ranked 65th in the world, and Monday's meeting with Latvia (140th) wouldn't normally set pulses racing either.
However, there will be huge interest in Tuchel's first two outings as manager, particularly as the German has already sprung a few surprises with his squad selection, with some familiar faces rather surprisingly returning to the fold while other in-form players were overlooked.
Indeed, as GOAL outlines below, plenty of questions are already being asked of the new boss, and he'll be hoping that some of his more controversial call-ups provide positive responses across his first two matches in charge of one of the most closely scrutinised teams in international football…
Getty/GOALIs Lewis-Skelly the solution to the left-back problem?
England's chronic shortage of decent left-backs was best illustrated by Sir Gareth Southgate's willingness to take a gamble on Luke Shaw's fitness at last summer's Euros – even though it was known before the tournament began that the Manchester United man was unlikely to be fit until the knockout stage.
Shaw eventually made his first appearance in the quarters and went on to play 90 minutes of the final defeat by Spain – but he's barely been seen on a football field since, making it abundantly clear that Tuchel cannot rely on him to be available for next year's World Cup.
Consequently, the new boss had had to get creative, calling up the uncapped Myles Lewis-Skelly even though the Arsenal academy graduate only has nine Premier League starts to his name. The 18-year-old is also a central midfielder by trade and has, thus far in his fledgling professional career, displayed a reckless streak at times.
However, desperate times call for desperate measures and, in fairness to Lewis-Skelly, he doesn't lack confidence, as underlined by his infamous mockery of Erling Haaland, meaning he seems unlikely to be overawed by mixing it with England's finest. Furthermore, given the lack of left-footed options at full-back, it would not be at all surprising to Lewis-Skelly start at least one of the two games as Tuchel looks for an immediate solution to one of England's problem positions.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportHas Henderson anything to offer ON the pitch?
Alan Shearer called Jordan Henderson's England recalled "left-field" – which was putting it mildly. Tuchel's decision to include the 34-year-old midfielder took absolutely everybody by surprise and was immediately construed as a damning indictment of the quality of the country's current crop of central midfielders.
Even before he ruined his reputation as one of football's 'good guys' by moving to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023, Henderson's legs appeared to be going during his final season at Liverpool. He's certainly done well to get his career back on track since joining Ajax last year, but it was both telling – and startling – that Tuchel effectively admitted that Henderson has been selected more for his character than his quality.
"I'm not so sure we need 23 outfield players in the World Cup and every one of these players needs to have the intention to be a starter," Tuchel told reporters. "Once we go to the World Cup, we need to clearly identify the roles. We will have a core team who are eager to be starters. We will have a support team, as well.
"We will have a team who is happy to end matches for us. We will have a group of players who are happy to take care of the values of the team, of the language, of the laughter, the pressure, the intensity, the seriousness."
The importance of team spirit should not be downplayed – a lot of recent tournament triumphs have owed much to the winning coach being able to create a club-like atmosphere within the international arena – but Henderson needs to prove he can still contribute the field rather simply serving as a morale-boosting mascot off it.
Getty/GOALIs Rashford really back to his best?
Did Marcus Rashford do enough to earn himself an England recall after a year in the international wilderness? If we're looking at the 2024-25 season as a whole, then no, definitely not. He was abject for Manchester United before being frozen out of the first-team squad by Ruben Amorim, and although he's enjoyed an encouraging upturn in form since joining Aston Villa, it's worth noting that he's yet to score a single goal for Unai Emery's men.
In that sense, Rashford has undeniably benefited from the unavailability of the likes of Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, and the atrocious form of Jack Grealish. However, Tuchel's willingness to "reward" Rashford for an increase in work-rate since moving to Villa was also key, with the manager admitting that he did not want to see the forward "fall back into old routines".
"He has stepped up his game impressively against the ball," Tuchel pointed out. "This is the most important point for him – the intensity after possession loss, the tracking back on the side, the sprinting, the hunting down, and making sure you’re in position. That he can bully defenders, we know all that… We forgot a little bit about it but we know it. He is a complete package. But, at the same time, we want to make sure that he stays on track."
The onus, then, is very much on Rashford to vindicate Tuchel's show of faith.
Getty Images SportCan out-of-form Foden justify his inclusion?
Just after the turn of the year, it appeared as if Phil Foden had found some form, with the Manchester City attacker scoring six goals in four games between January 4 and 25. Since then, though, Foden has performed as poorly as he did during the first half of the season – and indeed last summer's Euros.
Consequently, it was by no means a given that Foden, the 203-24 Premier League Player of the Year, would be included in Tuchel's first squad, particularly as the incompatibility issues we saw in Germany haven't magically disappeared. Foden is a fantastic footballer, but Jude Bellingham is better and deserves to start in his preferred No.10 role – it really is as simple as that, so it's up to the City star to prove that he can flourish on the flanks, which is not going to be easy.
Foden has admitted himself that he finds it "very difficult to influence the game" from out wide. "I didn't get what I wanted out of it," he recently told the . However, he is going to have to figure it out – with Tuchel's help of course.
We don't yet know what formation the ex-Chelsea boss plans to play – he's been keeping his cards very close to his chest in that regard – but presumably he feels he can not only fit Foden and Bellingham into the same team, but also get the very best out of both. There may well be a temptation to ask Foden to fill in for the injured Saka, but that doesn't look like a long-term solution as the left-footed Arsenal ace will always be the better option on the right.
This is a big international window, then, for Foden, who can no longer be considered first-choice for either club or country. He says he can play "multiple positions", but he very much needs to prove it if he wants to become a key component of Tuchel’s England.