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England Manager Thomas Tuchel Reveals England Squad Announcement and Number 10 Decisions
20/03/2026
Wembley, London, UK
20/03/2026
Wembley, London, UK
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SportsTranscript
00:00This media conference to confirm the England squad for forthcoming internationals with Uruguay and Japan.
00:04We'll open up to the floor shortly, in which case as you ever, it'll be two questions per person.
00:09If we do have time, we'll come back to you.
00:10But before we take questions, Thomas will begin with an opening statement.
00:14Yeah, thank you. I'm happy and excited to be back.
00:20I'm happy also, even more happy, more excited to be back soon on the pitch,
00:24to have my players back and have two matches before we finally go to the World Cup.
00:30I think it's a moment in March to acknowledge that the March camp is a bit of a unique camp
00:37in itself.
00:38I think the reality of it is that we are qualified.
00:42That means we have two friendly matches.
00:45The reality of a March camp is that our players are in a crucial moment in club football season.
00:55They fight for titles, they fight for a relegation battle, they are involved in knockout matches, in cup matches.
01:04So it is a crucial moment of the season, a very stressful moment of the season for them.
01:10But it is also our last camp, the last opportunity to impress, the last opportunity for players to compete for
01:18their ticket.
01:19So it is a bit of a mix of motives, it's a bit of a mix of headlines for this
01:26camp.
01:27And to get the best out of this camp, we decided to kind of split it in two camps.
01:33Which means we invited 19 outfield players and four goalkeepers into the first part of the camp,
01:42meaning until the match against Uruguay, to give these players a real chance to impress,
01:47to give the players a real chance to compete for minutes against Uruguay, impress against Uruguay,
01:57and then also compete, of course, for their tickets to the World Cup.
02:02From Saturday morning, Friday evening, Saturday morning, 11 players will join us in camp.
02:13And we will then release some players to have a group of 21, 22 outfield players plus goalkeepers
02:21to prepare professionally and with full focus for the Japan match.
02:31Hi Thomas.
02:32Hi.
02:32You do keep us on our toes, we weren't expecting this.
02:35Good.
02:37Can you help us out by telling us who the 11 are that are going to join up late, who
02:41won't feature?
02:41Yeah, it's no secret, it's no secret, you will see anyway if you come to an open training session.
02:46Yeah, we do, yeah.
02:47And the players know, it's Dean Henderson, Dan Byrne, Mark Gehi, Esri Konza, Nico O'Reilly,
02:54Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.
03:01So, should we...
03:02All of these guys, all of these guys have played 3,500 and plus more minutes,
03:09some of them have 4,000 minutes.
03:11More important than the pure number of minutes is that some of these guys have already played
03:16more minutes than the whole last season and there is still a lot of football to play.
03:23All of these players have contributed in September, October, November,
03:28so they have a bit of credit with me.
03:34And we think that to give them a break mentally and physically, we will benefit from it.
03:44They will come with hunger.
03:45Once they come, I think the headline changes a bit of camp, maybe from the competition for minutes,
03:50it's a competition for the ticket, it will still be on, but it's more about reconnecting,
03:56reconnecting the group and reconnecting also to our standards and to our level.
04:00That's the expectation.
04:02And that's why we gave these players a bit of a break and the chance to join us later.
04:07I guess those are the 11 players that you know very well as well, because you've had
04:10them in camp a lot already.
04:11Yeah, exactly.
04:12Two players you haven't had in camp at all are the Manchester United duo of Harry Maguire
04:17and Kobi Manu that you've called up for this time.
04:20First time, actually, in all of your tenure that you've had any Manchester United player
04:23in your squad, which speaks volumes, is a really strange stat in its own right.
04:27Why these two?
04:28Why now?
04:29Have they just, was it a no-brainer?
04:31Could you not overlook them?
04:32Good.
04:32It's good to make the point that it's nothing against Man United.
04:37It's just to acknowledge the achievement of Man United as a team.
04:43I think they have an outstanding run since Michael Carrick is in charge and Harry and
04:49Kobi are a big part of that.
04:52So it's, like I said, it's the last camp before the US.
04:56It's the last chance also for me to get to know new players, to learn about new players.
05:01Kobi is one of them.
05:02Harry is not a new player, of course, in an England shirt, but new to me in a camp.
05:08I want to see them around other players.
05:10I want to feel them on the pitch.
05:11I want to see what they're capable of and learn about them to make a clear decision in May.
05:21Hi, Thomas.
05:22You mentioned that it's the last chance to impress and fight for the ticket on the plane to the World
05:29Cup.
05:29Trent Alexander-Arnold, he's played just once under you.
05:33And with him not being in this larger squad, would it be fair to say that it's very unlikely
05:37for him to go to the World Cup to go to the World Cup?
05:40No, I know that it's a tough decision for Trent, as it is for, I guess, Oli Watkins at the
05:47moment and for Luke Shaw.
05:49These tough decisions come with a job.
05:53It is a sportive decision.
05:55It is a sportive decision that we stick with Jarrell Kwanza, with Tino Livramento and with Chad Spence,
06:03who all can play for us in camp on the right full-back position.
06:09It is a decision for Dom Solenki and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which I don't know as well as I know,
06:16for example, Oli Watkins.
06:18I feel I have a very clear picture of what Oli can give us.
06:21I saw him in tournaments.
06:22I saw him with us in qualifying football.
06:26So I want to have a look at two other players to get a better picture and have a clearer
06:34opinion.
06:36I know it's a tough one. I know it's a big name. I think it's a huge talent and a
06:42big career.
06:43But I feel that I know what Trent can give us and decided still to stick to the players who
06:51were in camp with us.
06:52What is it you feel those other right-backs offer you that Trent doesn't?
06:56A slightly different profile, I would say, but it is more the evidence that we have that we were good
07:04in September, October, November,
07:06than it has anything to do with what Trent cannot offer us.
07:10I know very well what Trent can offer us.
07:13I played many times against him and suffered when he played against us, against my teams with Liverpool.
07:21So I know very well about his strength and what he can give.
07:26But at the moment it is like that we have evidence how good we were in September, October, November.
07:32And the players who are in camp that I mentioned for right full-back, they have to push for their
07:39ticket, they have to compete, they have to show again that they deserve their spot.
07:46Thomas? Hello.
07:48Can we look at Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dom Solanke, what were their reactions when you spoke to them?
07:53They both struggled with injury to show their true form of late. Why have you brought them in? Their perseverance?
08:00Yeah, I think they have a bit of the same profile. Harry Kane is not in camp in the beginning,
08:05so I want to see them both.
08:09I want to know more about Dom Solanke, who was with us once, but then, as you said, a long
08:14time injured.
08:17Dominic Calvert-Lewin has a good season with Leeds and is very decisive.
08:22Both are good penalty takers, by the way, so I want to see what they are capable of.
08:27I want to see if they can fill the gap, what they can bring, what they can offer with set
08:34pieces, of course, with their strength and their body and the height that they bring.
08:39So, I want to learn about them, and let's see.
08:44I think, like I said, the competition is on. They will compete now for minutes against Uruguay.
08:50They have a real chance to get minutes against Uruguay.
08:52They were, of course, excited about the call-up. They understand the situation, and I think that helps, like, to
08:58be clear what the situation is in which they come.
09:03And they have a real chance to get an England cap, to get minutes, and, of course, they are excited
09:08for it.
09:08James Garner?
09:10Yeah.
09:12Well, the same. James plays an outstanding season with Everton and is a bit of an underrated player, I have
09:19the feeling.
09:20He plays several positions. I saw him many times live. I was always impressed with his work rate, always impressed
09:29with his physicality.
09:30I think it's a pleasure to play with him. He's a fantastic teammate. He does everything to help the others
09:37around him.
09:39He has huge capacity. He can run a lot. He has a high speed. He's very physical.
09:44He takes a lot of set pieces for Everton, which tells us that he has a clean foot, good strike,
09:53clean passing.
09:55Yeah, it was a pleasure to invite him. I wanted to see him and see what he's capable of, if
10:01he can adapt quickly to the level and if he can adapt to the situation.
10:06Yeah, it was an easy phone call because, of course, he was very happy about it.
10:11That's David there.
10:13Hi, Thomas. With such a short time left from now until the World Cup and just a few training sessions
10:18in this camp, two games,
10:19what do those players that you've called up into the group who haven't been around it before, what do they
10:23have to do to give themselves a chance of being in the World Cup squad?
10:28Adapt very quickly to the way we want to play. That was the reason why we split even the camp
10:34to also not get confused,
10:36to have the chance to get the players who come on Tuesday until the Uruguay match.
10:42We will have four training sessions together. We will have a clear profile for them, what we want, on which
10:50position they will compete within our structure,
10:54and what we demand and what we expect from them within the position.
11:01I hope they feel the freedom and they feel the spirit of the group quickly.
11:06It was a pleasure in September, October, November to be part of this, so we want to reconnect to that
11:13spirit.
11:13I think it's very important that John Stones, Jordan Henderson, normally Abregi Eze, players who have been in camp with
11:25us,
11:25who have contributed a lot, that they will just make it straight away clear to everyone what it means
11:33and how you act on the pitch and off the pitch with respect and how you be a good teammate.
11:39This is what we want to create and then hopefully the players find straight away the freedom and the liberty
11:46to show their potential.
11:49But we will be very clear with them in the four training sessions.
11:53It is demanding, but I'm looking forward to it.
11:55It is possible, I think, to prepare a team in four training sessions for a match against Uruguay and we
12:02will do it.
12:03A player that a lot of England fans are very excited about is young Max Daumann.
12:07Do you consider looking at him this time?
12:10Well, he put himself in the spotlight now with this amazing goal against Everton and the crucial goal.
12:17I think he is at the moment competing and obviously a fantastic talent and an outstanding talent with this age.
12:25There cannot be a doubt about it.
12:27Everyone who tells me about Max praises him and is full of compliments about him.
12:34The reality at the moment is also that he competes for minutes.
12:38He is not a regular starter for Arsenal.
12:41I think he is in a fantastic environment.
12:43I think he is in the best environment possible in a competitive club, in a stable club, in a club
12:49where teamwork is number one rule.
12:52This is how they play, this is how they function.
12:55So he learns from the very best in the very best environment.
12:59And with these young guys, of course, we know all these players and we see them as you do as
13:07well.
13:09At the moment I think he is in a good place to fight for his position, fight for his minutes
13:14at Arsenal.
13:17And we always have the chance to call him maybe up for the World Cup.
13:21The thing with young players is to keep their momentum maybe going and keep their excitement.
13:27And they have a level of fearlessness with them.
13:33So no need to call him up now and increase the pressure and increase all the noise that comes with
13:40it.
13:41But we have all options.
13:44Thomas, hi, you talk a lot about connections on the field.
13:48Is there a logic to the way Lewis Hall has been playing and Anthony Gordon as well to have a
13:53look at them at some point in tandem?
13:57That Anthony comes later and does not play?
14:00Yeah, ideally, of course.
14:03We broke our heads about it for days and weeks.
14:06There is no ideal scenario because I was convinced that Anthony can use a bit of a break.
14:14Louis competes for minutes.
14:17It is not always the same question.
14:20You give players then the chance.
14:22Would it then be more fair to give one or two players the chance and let them play with the
14:29guys who regularly play?
14:30But what happens to the others?
14:33It is always the same question.
14:36I am happy that we have four training sessions together to find a mix on each side that is at
14:43least unfair to judge the players.
14:45I know that it will not be easy for them to play in new constellations on the side and play
14:51in a new environment and play under the stress of competing for a World Cup ticket.
14:57But, I mean, this is high-level football.
15:00It comes with a bit of pressure and it comes with a bit of resilience, so we all have to
15:05adapt to it and make the best of it.
15:07England have taken a fourth goalkeeper unregistered to tournaments before, obviously Tom Heaton.
15:12But it is normally an experienced goalkeeper.
15:15Steele is obviously here.
15:17Is he now on the plane to America?
15:20No one is on the plane to America.
15:22He is now with us on the March camp.
15:24As you said, England has a history of taking four goalkeepers to the tournament, which makes absolutely sense.
15:30And we identified Jason to be a very, very good candidate for this role.
15:38And we wanted to try it.
15:40And the trial is now in March camp.
15:43Come over to Simon Peach here.
15:49Hi, Thomas.
15:50Just wanted to ask about Jude Bellingham.
15:52Obviously, he has not played for Real Madrid since the start of February.
15:55How are you planning to use him?
15:56Is he fit enough to be involved in terms of the game minutes?
16:02Everyone had the same interest, which is not always the case.
16:07But in this case, we all had the same interest.
16:10I wanted Jude to be in camp.
16:11Jude wanted to be in camp.
16:13And Real Madrid is happy for him to come to camp.
16:16Because we can provide basically team training for him,
16:21which is a bit difficult because Real Madrid is just like on the international break.
16:26So we can provide that.
16:28So all boxes are ticked.
16:31I think it was very important to get the expectations right.
16:35It's maybe also very important to get your expectations right about Jude in this camp.
16:42We will continue his progress in integration into team training.
16:49We will be very careful and not take any risk with Jude regarding risk of re-injury.
16:57It's a very rare injury for him to have a muscle injury.
17:01So he's not experienced in it.
17:03So we will be very, very careful with it and not take any risk.
17:06The best case scenario is that he gets some minutes against Japan.
17:12That is the framework.
17:15And then we will adapt from day to day.
17:18Thomas, Fikayo Tamori, a player you've been tracking since you joined Chelsea.
17:23Many England fans always ask, why is he not involved?
17:27Why have you brought him back?
17:29Well, I had many phone calls with Fikayo over the last year and it was always close.
17:34And I kept encouraging him to keep on going and that he's close and he's still on the long list
17:40and it's tough decisions and maybe 49% decisions against him
17:45because someone else got the 51% in his favour.
17:51Now we have, like I said many times, the last chance to actually see him on the pitch.
17:56I'm very impressed with Fikayo's ability to defend,
18:00which is, of course, a key characteristic for a defender and in these days
18:08and can be very valuable in, of course, also in knockout football.
18:13So he loves to defend, he's fast, he's aggressive and he's strong in duels.
18:19I'm happy that he's in camp.
18:22He was excited to come and it was a long wait for him, so good respect.
18:27You said there that there are players that have played as many minutes now
18:31as they had at the end of last season.
18:33Yeah.
18:34Being a former club manager and now country manager,
18:37does that give you an understanding of how balanced this is
18:41and how difficult this season is with the amount of games?
18:44And how did the players react to being told they wouldn't be in one camp?
18:48Because they're all competitive.
18:48When you say to them, have a rest, do they all say, thanks Garfield?
18:52Or were they a bit like, oh, I'm not sure?
18:54Yeah.
18:54I think we have the level of trust that they know there's no hidden agenda.
19:00And I mean what I say.
19:02And I could see in the reaction they were quite happy about it.
19:06I think we will benefit from it now regarding the second match.
19:12I think they will come and I expect them to come with hunger and excitement
19:16and into a short camp.
19:18What is a short camp for them?
19:20Because I demand that they come, like I said, and reconnect
19:23and push the standards to the level where it was.
19:27But I think, and that's why we do it, I'm convinced that we will benefit in June
19:34from this decision.
19:35Because, yeah, there is a lot of football for them to play in the club,
19:44in European level and in the leagues.
19:47And I think any little break they can have now will be a benefit later in June and July.
19:55Thomas, the one position that seems most open to debate at the moment is number 10.
20:02You've got a lot of players you could play number 10.
20:03Too many players, too much quality.
20:05How do you approach that decision?
20:08How do you approach making that decision on who are your best players in that role?
20:14Well, we have some evidence because, I repeat myself,
20:19because September, October, November was strong.
20:23And we have evidence and we have proof that we were strong as a team.
20:30And from there we go.
20:32I think we need clarity around every position.
20:35I think it will be very unlikely that we bring three, four, five players for one position
20:40into camp or into the World Cup.
20:42I think this will just confuse everyone.
20:46And, of course, if you have the choice between world-class players on the number 10 position,
20:53at some point we will have to make tough calls.
20:57But now it's about camp.
21:01We will have in camp, in the first part of the camp, it's called Palmer and Phil Foden.
21:14In the second part of the camp, it will be then Jude, Morgan.
21:19And Average ES is always in the mix for any position on the number 10 and on the wing.
21:25So, yeah, competition is on.
21:27But we will also share it in bytes that we have two players for one game competing.
21:35And then it's on the players to show the quality.
21:39And then it's on me to take a decision.
21:41OK, we'll end it there.
21:43Thanks for your time, guys.
21:45Done? Finished?
21:45Well.
21:49This way to radio, isn't it?
21:51Good, good, good.
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