- Published
England manager Thomas Tuchel left the United States in July pining for greater control.
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Tuchel → publish → control
At his first squad announcement since the World Cup on Friday, the German spoke of "embracing the chaos".
Is it possible to have controlled chaos?
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it → speak → chaos
It seems Tuchel is ready to find out.
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Tuchel → seem → ?
England's third-placed finish in the US was the nation's best performance at the World Cup since 1966.
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finish → place → 1966
But the memories of the team's semi-final loss to Argentina linger.
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memories → linger → Argentina
In the aftermath of the heartbreaking defeat, Tuchel pointed to his team's inability to find control having taken the lead via Anthony Gordon's opener as a key factor behind his side's late collapse.
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Tuchel → point → collapse
"Football is about adapting to situations and football without any control is sometimes hard to digest for a coach, if you look at the 6-4 against France [in the World Cup bronze-medal match]," said Tuchel.
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Tuchel → adapt → match
"But people talk about it like it's one of their nicest experiences ever, to watch a football match, so maybe I have to compromise in my wish for control, for a little bit more chaos, embrace the chaos, and maybe it brings out the best."
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it → talk → best
Or maybe it is just a sign that Tuchel wants his side to become more unpredictable in their search for success.
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side → want → success
Because that is what the best teams do - mix it up when required.
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teams → mix → it
Despite Tuchel's remarks, his latest squad for the fixtures against Spain, the Czech Republic and Croatia rather contradicts any thoughts of a havoc-rich approach.
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squad → contradict → approach
The return of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer, two of English football's most technically gifted players, screams control.
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return → scream → control
So do the call-ups of Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott and Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall, who are both extremely adept in possession of the ball.
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who → do → ball
Rio Ngumoha's first senior call-up will certainly add an air of unpredictability to Tuchel's options.
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up → add → options
The Liverpool winger, 18, has had an exciting start to the season, catching the eye with his invention and trickery down both flanks for Andoni Iraola's side.
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winger → have → side
That Tuchel revealed Fulham attacker Josh King is also close to earning his first senior call-up provides further indication the England manager wants to reinvigorate his forward line ahead of the forthcoming Nations League campaign and beyond.
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manager → reveal → campaign
Yet, we shouldn't expect Tuchel to completely let go of the handbrake just yet.
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Tuchel → expect → handbrake
In response to a question as to whether his team can replicate the fast-paced approach of a Premier League team but harnessed with a greater control, Tuchel responded: "That would be the wish, that we become for 10 minutes a little bit more like Spain, here and there.
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we → replicate → Spain
"The more I reflect on it, it's maybe more buying into our strengths and play more minutes like we played the second half against Croatia, and more minutes like we played the first half against France, and buying into these strengths, because I think we get a lot of value out of it, we get a lot of connection to the fans, this is what the Premier League reflects.
"
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League → reflect → what
We are maybe not the most economical team to play football but this is maybe also a characteristic of the Premier League.
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this → play → League
The Premier League is not a very economical league, you have to play.
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you → have → ?
"You need to max out every single match otherwise you cannot compete for the title so this is something more beautiful.
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this → need → title
But this is where we are, where I am in my mindset and I think where the players are, so it's still a bit ambiguous.
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it → think → mindset
"
But while Tuchel may not have total clarity with regards to whether control or chaos is the way forward, he showed no hint of confusion over who he believes his best players are.
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players → have → confusion
Tuchel refuted assertions his decision to recall Palmer and Alexander-Arnold was an admission he'd got his World Cup squad wrong.
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squad → refute → Palmer
Indeed, Tuchel has hinted he would have picked a vastly similar squad for the upcoming games to the one he selected for the US had all his options been available.
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options → hint → US
"Before we did the nomination in the last month, I thought we had more of a continuation of the World Cup squad but then a lot of members of our World Cup squad - Reece [James], Dan [Burn], Dean [Henderson, [John] Stones, [Jordan] Henderson, Djed Spence - can't be with us due to injuries, so it is not like a full continuation.
"
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it → do → continuation
These players were crucial for us in building the brotherhood, in building the spirit and taking care of the mentality that took us the long way in the tournament.
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that → build → tournament
We will not negotiate on that, we will not give in on that.
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we → negotiate → that
"So other players will step up, this is basically how I see this camp.
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I → step → camp
"My mindset at the moment is not to change too much within the formations."
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mindset → change → formations
England host World Cup winners Spain at Wembley on Saturday, 26 September then travel to the Czech Republic (Tuesday, 29 September) and Croatia (Saturday, 3 October) before the Czechs visit on Tuesday, 6 October.
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Czechs → host → Tuesday
The Aporia
