The big questions facing Tuchel as he names his first England squad since the World Cup

[Hitman04]

Thomas Tuchel is back naming an England squad for the first time since the tournament ended, and the provisional list he has put together raises a genuinely interesting set of questions about where he takes the team next after a World Cup campaign that ended in painful fashion against Argentina in the semi final. The squad news lands alongside upcoming fixtures against Spain, the Czech Republic and Croatia, all of which will test whether the lessons from that tournament have actually been absorbed.

The recall question is the most immediately visible one. Young prospects Rio Ngumoha and Lewis Hall both feature in the provisional squad, while two of England's most creative attacking talents, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, both notable omissions from the actual World Cup squad itself, look set to be reconsidered now that the tournament pressure has passed. Bournemouth's Alex Scott, Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly and Everton's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall round out the extended group of uncapped or lightly capped players in the mix, while injuries rule out Jordan Henderson, Dean Henderson and John Stones from this particular window entirely.

The striker position is arguably the trickiest puzzle Tuchel has to solve right now. Harry Kane remains unavailable and Ivan Toney is dealing with ongoing legal issues that complicate his selection, leaving a genuine gap at the position England has traditionally treated as a settled certainty. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been in strong form for Leeds with four goals in four games, and Liam Delap's recent scoring form for Nottingham Forest gives Tuchel a second credible option to fold into the senior setup, though neither has anything close to Kane's pedigree at this level yet.

The tactical question cuts deeper than personnel though. Post mortem analysis of the semi final defeat to Argentina pointed squarely at England going overly passive after taking a 1-0 lead, sitting back and inviting pressure rather than pushing to extend the advantage, and observers are watching closely to see whether Tuchel actually addresses that pattern directly or simply reshuffles personnel and hopes the same mistake does not repeat itself against tougher opposition.

Beneath all of that sits a broader question about squad morale and cohesion following a result that was emotionally devastating for players and fans alike, even though the FA is publicly framing the eventual third place finish as a successful tournament overall. An ongoing internal World Cup review is reportedly examining team dynamics and tournament logistics, including how much of a factor the squad's Kansas City base actually was, and how Tuchel handles the fallout from that review alongside picking his next squad will say a lot about his management style heading into the next cycle of fixtures.

England squad announcement: Big questions facing Thomas Tuchelwww.bbc.co.uk

[Paul_13]

The passivity after taking the lead against Argentina is the tactical story that actually matters here, personnel changes are almost a distraction if the underlying game management approach does not change. England have made that exact same mistake in knockout football before and it keeps costing them.