THE CONTENDERS - Jury out on strange England squad

Thomas Tuchel has one of the toughest jobs on the planet today. While he isn’t solving world hunger, or bringing peace to the Middle East, English media has notoriously made it difficult for the England coach.

Every squad pick is questioned and, even though the team has only ever tasted success at the World Cup in 1966, its fans are brutal about what they expect and what failure to meet those expectations means.

There are some quarters that suggest that the pressure put on the England team is largely responsible for their failure to match their 1966 feat.

ENGLAND

A team filled with talent, unexpected selections and shock omissions, England will be hopeful they can finally achieve the dream they have been aiming for since 1966, that is, bring football home.

Many a ‘golden generation’ has come and gone for the English, but perhaps now is the time for them to take the World Cup trophy across the pond like they did at home six decades ago.

But the concern surrounding the team is perhaps Tuchel, the first non-English manager since Fabio Capello in 2012. Many feel he has already gotten the formula wrong when it is considered the players he has left off the plane to the Americas.

Tuchel apparently sees Chelsea ace Cole Palmer, and Manchester City’s Phil Foden as surplus to requirements, while there was also no place for established defenders Harry Maguire, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Luke Shaw. 

Players to Watch: Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Nico O’Reilly

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

FIFA RANKINGS

1. Argentina
2. Spain
3. France
4. England
5. Portugal
6. Brazil
7. Morocco
8. Netherlands
9. Belgium
10. Germany