Jordan Henderson! Jordan ****ing Henderson! WTAF!! (Sorry for Djed not getting a call up in one way, but delighted in another.)
Great news about Spence in my opinion, only time I ever want Spurs players playing for their countries is in the actual tournaments. Qualifiers and friendlies can get in the bin. Hopefully Solanke’s just there as a number and that Kane/ Rashford predominately play at number 9. Henderson making that squad is wild though. I’d imagine it’s just a senior head thing, surely the CM pairing will be a mix or all three of Rice, Bellingham and Rogers? Still bonkers. Unsure as to whether Tuchel will go with 3 or 4 at the back, he’s switched up formations a lot throughout his career. I think with the talent we have in midfield and attacking mid we’re better suited to a 4231 system.
Time to look for any quotes from Tuchel saying he'll shake up the England squad, only to pick the players Southgate was calling up in 2018 anyway...
Wasting an opportunity to give a new generation MF a chance is a very bad move. Tuchel will just be another 'failure' I expect. Maybe Ange is lined up for when he gets the heave-ho in the summer??
From the BBC: England squad Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton), James Trafford (Burnley) Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (AC Milan, loan from Manchester City) Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa, loan from Manchester United), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham Hotspur) Not from the BBC: Trafford still qualifies for the U21s, so he should go and play for them, rather than being on the bench. Too many centre-halves and only one, young left-back, plus some utility players. Too many old players and he's left out some better, younger options. Henderson and Walker are in but nobody from Forest? Gibbs-White should walk in. Connor Gallagher, Spence and Watkins are all strange omissions, too.
please log in to view this image Impressive lineup, though I'm not familiar with the keepers, who are all on loan.
Apparently VDV hasn't been included in the Netherlands squad as he continues to work on his fitness. Excellent news. Romero should be taking a leaf out of that particular book. Never will though.
Tuchel is here for the WC next year and that’s it. He’s not here to bed in youngsters for the future. I like the approach and hope it pays off and football finally comes home
T That's the rationale behind a number of his selections. He has picked some younger players, but wants experience, even if it means picking some players who might not otherwise have got in the squad based on form alone. The World Cup is a little over 15 months away; I can see the logic in not experimenting and placing trust in seasoned pros. Henderson is a leader and apparently influential in the dressing room; ditto Walker. Rashford - if the best can be got out of him - still has electric pace, the ability to run in behind and can pull defenders out of position, assets which England don't have an abundance of in their ranks and is needed against organised defences. Fans tend to pick the form players at club level, but there are no guarantees those players can gel when they have never played together and lack international experience. So whilst most of us would raise an eyebrow at the make-up of the squad, Tuchel has clearly given it a lot of thought and you have to trust him at this stage.
It's about making a team, as you say. We have had plenty of celebrity teams for England in the past if we are going to compete with teams like Spain we will probably not beat them on skill alone. We have to play to our strengths, and strength is the key word for me. He has picked some big physical players and they can protect the ball and supply our skill merchants. It's what we could do with in the Spurs team, a midfield enforcer.
