sports
Tuchel thinks outside the box in final push for World Cup places with England expansion
Decision to essentially name two squads featuring 35 players overall is the ‘least messy’ solution and offers the best chance to assess fringe players
TL;DR
- Thomas Tuchel has named a 35-player England squad for the March international window, the last before the World Cup finals.
- The squad is effectively split into two groups for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan to manage player fatigue and assess fringe players.
- 24 players will be available for the Uruguay game, with a different 11 established players joining for the Japan match.
- This strategy aims to provide opportunities for players on the fringes to stake their claim for the 26-man World Cup squad.
- Tuchel acknowledges the plan has an 'unfair element' but deems it the 'least messy' solution.