Thomas Tuchel begins bid for redemption as England prepare Nations League squad announcement
Thomas Tuchel has opened a fresh attempt at redemption with England as he prepares to name his squad on Friday for the opening Nations League fixtures, the start of a campaign the manager hopes will refocus the team after the World Cup.
It is two months since England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina in the United States, a result that has split opinion between supporters who blame Tuchel for relinquishing a 1-0 lead with five minutes to go and those who value England reaching the semi-finals for only the fourth time in their history. England’s run included a last-16 victory over Mexico at the Azteca, an extra-time win over Norway in the quarter-finals and a group-stage win over Croatia; a subsequent victory over France in the third-place playoff produced England’s best World Cup finish since 1966.
Tuchel has been visible around Premier League grounds this season and recounted a terse encounter in a VIP area, saying: “People are killing me,” which captures the manager’s sense of being bruised by the fallout from the World Cup. The tension from that tournament follows him into the next cycle as he prepares for the run-up to the Euro 2028 finals when England will be co-hosts.
The Football Association has publicly backed Tuchel, arguing his in-game adjustments helped salvage difficult moments in the World Cup and that the team spirit he fostered was genuine; the FA judged the idea he should have resigned or been sacked after a semi-final finish to be absurd. Had England lost to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 32—when they were 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go—Tuchel believes the FA would still have been reluctant to dismiss him after Harry Kane’s two goals completed a comeback, a performance the article claims makes the captain deserving of the Ballon d’Or.
Tuchel acknowledged his outspoken “death-or-glory” rhetoric before the tournament and slightly moderated those comments during the event, while his stated mission had been to add a second star to the shirt, an objective England did not achieve. England entered the tournament as the fourth seeds and, according to the piece, the FA privately feared that winning would be beyond them after the draw; the schedule delivered the latest possible start, a long gap between their first and second group matches, then a more compressed run with testing travel and heat.
The Nations League presents what the article describes as a more challenging group than England had previously faced in Group B, where they encountered Ireland, Finland and Greece and lost 2-1 to Greece at Wembley; the hope, the piece says, is that Group A’s tests will better prepare England for the Euros. Tuchel must also contend with probable absences through injury of John Stones, Dan Burn, Djed Spence and Jordan Henderson while evaluating defensive options: Tino Livramento, Levi Colwill, Jarrad Branthwaite and Lewis Hall are pushing for recalls.
Midfield and attacking selection questions include whether Kobbie Mainoo keeps his place after a lacklustre World Cup, with the article noting “He has been good for Manchester United despite their poor start.” Alex Scott and Myles Lewis-Skelly are also hoping for recalls, while Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are candidates for the No 10 role; Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke are reported not to have restarted well at Arsenal. The piece adds there is energy around Josh King and Ryo Ngumoha and also mentions Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Liam Delap, noting that observers will scrutinise Tuchel’s tone at the squad announcement as much as his selections given that a defensive approach failed in the Argentina game.
Tuchel’s immediate steps are set: he will name his squad on Friday and England open their Nations League campaign against Spain at Wembley next Saturday, with further fixtures scheduled against Czechia (home and away) and Croatia away.