Eight players have left the England national team camp ahead of the second international match in March. Coach Thomas Tuchel did not want to overstate the current situation on Monday.
Thomas Tuchel originally called up an XXL squad of 35 players for the March internationals. After the 1:1 draw against Uruguay last Friday, however, only 27 players remain. No fewer than five professionals left the squad due to injury: Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke (all Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace) and John Stones (Manchester City).
The trio of Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were not considered for the Japan game at Wembley on Tuesday for sporting reasons – and are likely to have very little chance of making the World Cup squad.
The current problem children are others. Saka and Rice, for example: “They really wanted to play to make things clear, but there was no point in taking the risk,” Tuchel made clear at Monday’s press conference. “If it had been the last game of the season, we would have used them, but at this point in the season it didn’t make sense. The risk was far too great.”
After a medical examination, the Arsenal duo “clearly had complaints”, which is why it would have made “absolutely no sense” to keep them in the national team. However, according to Tuchel, there was “nothing dramatic” with all five professionals.
“That’s the reality of this season”
The German assesses the current situation with a good dose of realism. “I’m not disappointed with the players, but with the situation. That’s the reality of this season, the reality at the end of March, the reality of players who are involved in more than one competition,” Tuchel clarified. “We have players with us who have already played more minutes than in the whole of last season, so there are certain concerns.”
It’s a difficult balancing act for him as national team coach. “We want the players to perform at their clubs, but it’s also our last training camp before the trip to America, so we want to get back to our principles. I’m neither upset nor angry with the players,“ assured Tuchel: ”I had the feeling that everyone really wanted to be there. Some of the injured players even stayed to get treatment – that shows that they want to be part of the group.” Tuchel sensed a “good team spirit, and that’s exactly how it should be”.
Stones still “a key player” for Tuchel
Despite his difficult spell at ManCity and ongoing injury problems, defender Stones is still “a key player” for Tuchel. He was “devastated” after the next setback with the national team. “But given his history, we had to be careful; it wouldn’t have made sense to overburden him and try things that could make the situation worse,” Tuchel clarified. “His quality, his mentality and his personality – the way he is, he still plays a big part in my plans. But like everyone else, he has to be fit, there’s no big exception.”
Tuchel could only partially understand criticism after the draw against Uruguay and a comparison with France’s form as a top team. “You’ve seen our line-up and our opponents, it’s only March. We’re happy with how our training camp has gone so far. I know it wasn’t a pretty sight, but I also know that we played against a well-trained team and the best possible Uruguay line-up,“ replied the Three Lions head coach: ”We’ve done a lot of things right in most phases of the game. We now need test matches like this to get to know each other better. We have time to prepare. Do you think Brazil won’t be prepared in June? I think so. Once you’re there, you don’t think about March anymore. We will be ready.”
