Players like Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer, left out of England's latest squad for fitness reasons, have received warnings from Thomas Tuchel for the World Cup. The Three Lions coach says he is ready to leave the most talented players at his disposal to try to win world glory in 2026, because “the team” takes precedence over the individual. As a reminder, Palmer is nursing a groin injury at Chelsea, which has kept him off the field since mid-September.
Tuchel spoke to Bellingham before introducing his new team, explaining the reasons for his exclusion. The former Bayern Munich and Chelsea manager has now revealed he is prepared to snub any superstar who threatens collective harmony as the England men's team seek a first major international trophy since 1966.
Tuchel ready to make controversial World Cup decisions
Tuchel told reporters he was prepared to make controversial decisions: “We are not recruiting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team. These are the teams that win trophies, no one else. »
The German added, specifying that no one was excluded from the competition: “It’s like that in international football. But what you tell me is not what I say. You play the game which consists of saying: “He (Tuchel) says that the others are not in the team, we cannot build a team with them. » It's not like that. We built a team with the available players and they played so well that we are playing with them again. No one said we couldn't do the same with them. Or even better, or maybe on the same level, with the others.
“For now, we maintain our choice and our radical position is that we do not recruit the most talented players. We recruit those who have the cohesion and cohesion necessary to form the best team. Because we have to arrive as the best team. We will arrive as underdogs at the World Cup, having not won it in decades and we will face teams who have won it several times during that time. So we have to come as a team, otherwise we won't have a chance. »
