Football’s memory is short, particularly when it comes to national sides. The most successful resemble club teams in that they have a core of players and a clearly defined style of play. There’s always an in-form player around whom a clamour develops, but continuity is just as important, perhaps even more so, in the international game. But next week inevitably represents a new start as Thomas Tuchel picks his first England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia later in the month.
All managers make some slightly surprising selections to start with – Sven-Göran Eriksson, for instance, began with a 3-0 friendly win against Spain in which Chris Powell, Gavin McCann and Michael Ball all played a half – but this should give at least some indication of how Tuchel plans to set about trying to win the 2026 World Cup.
Given his contract runs only until the end of that tournament, there is little reason for him to look to the long term: there’s no point blooding players who might be coming into their prime for Euro 2028. His job is to win in 2026, which may mean a greater willingness to pick older players who had seemed to have drifted from the picture. While there are obvious drawbacks if Tuchel ends up ignoring youth, a clarity of focus may turn out to be beneficial. Jam tomorrow often ends up not being jam at all.
That, and the lack of outstanding alternatives, probably means Harry Kane still leading the side, even if he has underwhelmed in the last two tournaments. Ollie Watkins impressed at the Euros but has not had the best season, Ivan Toney has removed himself from consideration by joining Al-Ahli, while Dominic Solanke, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Callum Wilson have all struggled with injury. Danny Welbeck, at 34, could be the beneficiary of a new short-termism. Liam Delap, at 22, has surely done enough for at least a call-up.
What comes behind Kane is a thornier question. At the Euros, England ended up with too many players whose natural position was either as a No 10 or drifting from wide into that position – a particular issue given the way Kane naturally drops into that role. Telling him to stay high seems to miss the point; one of his greatest gifts is his ability to fall deeper, spin and ping passes to players running beyond him. But England suddenly lacked players to run beyond him, a problem, arguably, of Gareth Southgate – so often derided as conservative, staid and over-loyal – making too many changes too quickly.
Injury removes Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke, while Raheem Sterling is surely no longer under consideration, but there is still an intimidating array of options: Jude Bellingham, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon, Jack Grealish, James Maddison, Ethan Nwaneri, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Morgan Rogers …
The question really is one of balance: Rashford may only just be showing flickerings of form after his loan move to Aston Villa, but his pace, his capacity to run into the space Kane vacates, may be what England need from the left. Can Palmer and Bellingham both be accommodated? There may have to be some very difficult omissions.
At the back of midfield – the squad seem naturally to fall into a 4-2-3-1 or perhaps a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid shape – Tuchel faces the problem all England managers have of the lack of a ball-playing anchor. Declan Rice seems not to have the tactical awareness needed for the role and is better deployed as the more attacking of the two holders, driving forwards.
That absence is why Lee Carsley turned to Angel Gomes but, for all the Lille midfielder’s technical ability, doubts persist about his physicality, which is why so many have invested so much hope in Adam Wharton. He surely will be in the squad, although given he is just regaining fitness after a groin problem, it would be unfair to expect too much too soon. Curtis Jones and Conor Gallagher could also have roles to play, particularly if the preference is for something closer to 4-3-3 than 4-2-3-1.
Jordan Pickford remains the clear first choice in goal, but the back four is far harder to predict. Marc Guéhi had an outstanding Euros and, after a slightly shaky start to the season, has returned to form recently and has a good claim to be the left-sided centre-back. In an ideal world, his partner would probably be John Stones but his thigh injury opens the door to a host of candidates, foremost among them perhaps Ezri Konsa.
Full-back is even more fraught. Lewis Hall, who was given his Chelsea debut by Tuchel, would probably have been the left-back after an excellent season but he is out until the summer. Myles Lewis-Skelly has made a huge impact at Arsenal, even if he does feel like a red card waiting to happen.
Tyrick Mitchell, after another quietly impressive season, is a more experienced option but Tuchel may decide fielding somebody more used to operating at wing-back is too much of a risk, particularly if he goes for Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right. A player who can tuck in as a de facto third centre-back would offer better balance, which makes it a shame Levi Colwill hasn’t had a better season.
On the right, Alexander-Arnold presents the usual dilemma: is there a way of covering his defensive shortcomings to accommodate his supreme ball-playing? In that sense the question of his selection is less to do with him than the makeup of the midfield and the rest of the back four. Rico Lewis, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence or, if he can stay fit, Reece James represent safer options.
But, as ever, the key is internal coherence, picking the right players not the best players, and having a thick enough skin to ignore the noise around whoever happens to be flavour of the month. Great individuals help, of course, as England found at the last Euros when their misfiring side somehow reached the final. But what actually wins tournaments is the rest, those who allow the great individuals to flourish. Anybody can pick Lionel Messi; the real skill is finding Rodrigo De Paul.
