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Thomas Tuchel’s choice of players for England’s World Cup campaign has stirred intense debate across the football community.

Trying to understand this England squad means acknowledging that this World Cup is entirely Tuchel’s project — his vision, his rules. Those who fit his system are in; those who don’t, are out.

The England head coach has made it clear that his decisions are guided by what he believes gives his team the best chance to lift the trophy, not by popularity or public sentiment. The list of 26 players he has announced underscores that he is prepared to take bold, even divisive, decisions.

“It’s an exciting day for me,” Tuchel said with a knowing smile at Wembley, while discussing the intricacies of a squad selection that has already become one of the most controversial in England’s recent tournament history.

Tuchel opted for Djed Spence instead of Lewis Hall, the 35-year-old Jordan Henderson over Adam Wharton, and Tino Livramento rather than Trent Alexander-Arnold. Most strikingly, he picked Dan Burn ahead of a “gutted and shocked” Harry Maguire — a choice publicly criticised by the Manchester United defender’s mother as “disgraceful.”

In doing so, Tuchel has stayed loyal to the players who helped England qualify flawlessly, without conceding a single goal. Yet, among the absentees, Jarrod Bowen’s omission stands out as the most unfortunate and possibly the least justified.

Tuchel hinted Bowen might be a casualty of “the situation at his club”, a comment unlikely to console the West Ham captain.

One of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of Ivan Toney as England’s third-choice striker. Despite scoring 32 goals in as many matches this season, Toney’s achievements came in the Saudi Pro League — a competition ranked by Opta as weaker than both Cyprus’s top division and England’s League One. The question many are asking: is this really England’s best option?

Tuchel admitted, “His call-up was also a bit of a surprise to us.” It’s a comment that will hardly please the excluded Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Tuchel noted he had received positive reports and maintained a strong connection with Toney’s club coach at Al Ahli, Matthias Jaissle — whom Tuchel once coached in Stuttgart’s youth setup.

Still, Toney’s record — having scored 47 of his 50 career penalties, including one for England in a shootout — offers a clear rationale for his inclusion. “We have specialists for all sorts of situations,” Tuchel explained. “We’ve always said we want to be strong on set pieces. We have specialists for that, for penalties, for when we’re leading and when we’re chasing.”

Tuchel made it evident that reputation and fan pressure would not influence his choices. At Wembley, he reiterated that big names or popularity had no bearing on his selection.

Notably, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer were left out because Tuchel prefers Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, and Eberechi Eze as his attacking midfielders and did not want to play anyone out of position. Gareth Southgate was heavily criticised for doing exactly that with Foden at Euro 2024. Morgan Gibbs-White, despite having more goal contributions than any other English player in the Premier League since January, also missed out due to tactical fit.

Explaining his thought process, Tuchel said, “What did they do for us? Does someone bring a completely different profile?” He spoke of cutting down the provisional 55-man list submitted to FIFA to the final 26 for the tournament in North America. “Of course, we also look at what they do for their clubs,” he added, though his tone suggested club form was not a top priority.

With no Trent Alexander-Arnold or Adam Wharton, England lack a deep-lying playmaker. Yet, Spence — who has neither scored nor assisted for Tottenham this season and started just once in their last six games — made the cut. Tuchel justified the decision: “He was excellent in every match he played for us. He adds something unique to this group. He loves defending and is the fastest player in our squad.”

Tuchel had a candid conversation with Spence back in March, urging him to play more regularly and influence matches at Tottenham. His display in the 1-1 draw against Uruguay impressed Tuchel enough to secure his place. Noni Madueke’s inclusion follows similar reasoning — loyalty to those who delivered in qualifying.

Over the past three days, Tuchel personally called every player who had featured in any of his previous squads, explaining his decision and the logic behind it. However, Harry Maguire publicly voiced his disappointment on Thursday night, criticising his exclusion even before the official squad announcement. Tuchel later admitted he was disappointed by Maguire’s statement.

The final squad features a mix of surprising inclusions and notable omissions — but perhaps that was inevitable. Tuchel’s approach, much like Frank Sinatra’s famous sentiment, is to do things his own way. It could backfire dramatically, but he believes these choices give him and England their best shot at success.

“The goal is to try to win it and not to be shy about it,” Tuchel concluded.