England national football team head coach Thomas Tuchel has promised that he will either video call or personally meet every player to explain why they were not selected and what they need to do to make it into his FIFA World Cup plans, as per Sky Sports. “First of all, it’s my job now to make contact with everyone, players like Trent (Alexander-Arnold),” Tuchel said, as quoted from Sky Sports. “Players that are on our long list, 55, 60 players, to reach out to them, be in touch with them, explain to them why they were not here. Explain to them what they have to do, where they can improve,” he added.
“Can they even do something, or is it just a choice, so this is my job in the next weeks and months,” he noted.
“Of course, I have a lot of trust in Jarell. I see his talent, but I see the package. He is tall, he is fast, he is strong in build-up. He is strong in the air,” he said.
“I saw him playing very strong for Liverpool in this position (right-back), so I always wanted to try,” Tuchel added.
“And he plays every minute for Leverkusen since the Under-21 Euros, so he is at the moment a tiny bit ahead,” he noted.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is among the senior names hoping to return, while players like Luke Shaw, Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker are also waiting for a call.
Danny Welbeck, who last featured for England in 2018, is another player pushing strongly for a place in a squad that has mostly remained unchanged through the autumn.
Tuchel said, “…I actually dislike phone calls.”
“Better on FaceTime. Then I see the expression, at least, and get a feeling for the person. Or I need to visit them, visit training, training grounds,” he noted.
“We can do group visits. We can do Jude (Bellingham) and Trent. And visit the clubs. And some of them we will call. Let’s see,” he added.
“Listen, we’ve just finished this camp and I think it’s important that I reach out to everyone, even to the guys we didn’t pick so regularly, to tell them where they are and give them honest feedback,” he said.
Those currently out of the squad know exactly how tough it will be to force their way in, especially with the kind of praise and confidence Tuchel has repeatedly shown towards the existing England group.
“It hurts me, honestly,” he said.
“I told the players ‘I have to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year now, I cannot believe it and in my heart, everything in me wants to be with you guys in Wednesday again on the sidelines and fight on Saturday again’ and they sucked me into all of this,” he noted.
“This is just amazing. It will be very, very tough for me to not have a match until March,” he added.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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