After announcing the latest England squad, head coach Thomas Tuchel held a press conference. Below is the first part of the conference.
Let’s talk directly about the team you’ve selected, the squad—because there are two major headlines, for me, regarding the included players: Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton are both defensive midfielders, an area you’ve previously mentioned wanting to focus on. What are your thoughts on these two? Additionally, there are two very notable omissions, specifically Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish. Could you explain why neither of them made the squad?
Yes, we called up these two (Anderson and Wharton) first because we believe both deserve to be included. They played crucial roles in their respective clubs’ highly successful seasons last year. Adam Wharton was part of Crystal Palace’s major trophy wins, a regular starter and key player in midfield. Elliot Anderson was integral to Nottingham Forest qualifying for European competitions—for me, he’s more of an 8 (box-to-box midfielder), while Adam’s profile is more of a 6 (defensive midfielder). Both deserve this call-up; they’ve had strong starts to the season and are in good form. Now is the time to boost competition, to inject some fresh blood—and they’ve earned the right to be with us.
Of course, I can explain the omissions. First, we decided to build a more compact, competitive squad. We didn’t use all 23 spots to make it more competitive. There’s no doubt I’m a huge admirer of Trent and Jack—their talent and qualities. They are important players, will always be important players, and will always be in contention for call-ups. I know they’re both eager to return, and that’s very important.
But for this camp, we chose Reece (James) and Tino Livramento in Trent’s position—this is purely down to competition. For Jack’s position, we opted for Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon, and Eberechi Eze. The competition is fierce, but they (Trent and Jack) will stay in the frame. I know how much they want to come back, and I think they might benefit from finding more rhythm—like Jack, who’s playing regularly again now and already making a huge impact at Everton, which is fantastic. The same goes for Trent: after moving clubs and relocating to a new country, I think he needs time to adapt and rediscover his rhythm at right-back.
Kyle Walker was also omitted—what was the thinking behind that decision?
The same reason. I’m a big fan of Kyle; I’ve tried to sign him multiple times in my coaching career, and I know what he can bring to any team. He decided to take on a new challenge, settling at Burnley, and he’s a key player there. I admire his courage to take that step, to stay in the top league, and embrace a fresh challenge late in his career. But again, it’s down to competition. I think Reece is slightly ahead in that position right now, thanks to his form at the end of last season and his performances in our camps. He won the Club World Cup, is currently a key player for Chelsea, and has performed well for us.
We gave the second spot in that position to Tino—these are the decisions that were made. Tough calls have to be made, and these were tough for me. We wanted to do this because we want a more compact squad, and we want more competition within it. The last transfer window, in June before the Club World Cup, came at a bit of an odd time.
You said you built a more compact squad to change the vibe and competition—do you expect a different feel from this camp? Because the World Cup feels like it’s at the end of the season…
It’s not just because the World Cup is a year away. I simply expect a different… how to put it? A different feel, a different energy—because we have to play with different energy and a different vibe. It’s that simple, and it’s my responsibility to create that. I think we’ve started by doing that: we shortened the longlist, made the squad more compact and competitive, so that’s the starting point. When the players arrive on Tuesday, we’ll make sure everyone understands we have two important qualifiers first—above all, we need to qualify for that major tournament, and that’s the priority. To do that, we have to play with a better feel, we have to create a better vibe, and we have to bring more energy.
You received a lot of criticism over the summer for not selecting young players. Why is it so important to send these players to the European U21 Championship instead of keeping them involved during the season? What value do they get from that?
Yes, but look—I think it worked out quite well. For example, Harvey Elliott played a key role in the European U21 Championship, gained match experience, and was a key player for Lee (Caskey). He was part of that huge success and won the tournament. Adam was involved in Crystal Palace’s title challenge, then had a concussion—otherwise, he would have been part of it too. At that crucial stage, giving them the chance to participate in a tournament was a priority.
For us, we still—let’s see, we’ve called up 35 players across two camps, which is a lot. So we needed to—we wanted to see as many players as possible, learn from both camps, gain our experience and observations, then be able to build the squad we want to work with for the games against Andorra and Serbia. Now everyone has a responsibility to hold onto their spot, work hard, and show they deserve to be in the camp.
Eberechi Eze has had a fantastic summer too—he won a trophy and got the No. 10 shirt at Arsenal. Do you think he can help address some of the injury-related issues in this camp?
Yes, absolutely. He played a decisive role in both of Crystal Palace’s finals. As a teammate and a player, he was excellent in both of our previous camps—he showed all his potential, and he was one of the standout players in the June camp. He demonstrated his ability, showed what he can bring to any team.
So he’s a very, very talented player, and a great teammate too. I think the time is right for him to take on a new challenge, and this is exactly the right moment for that. His decision—and the opportunity—to join one of the most competitive teams in the country can only be a good thing for us.
