| Thomas Tuchel was unveiled as England manager in mid-October. Since then, he spent two-and-a-half months unofficially collecting his thoughts (and sizeable wage) during a pre-job gardening leave before officially starting on 1 January. Since then, Tuchel has spent the last two-and-a-half months making “an absolutely brilliant impact” and “building connections”, according to chief FA suit Mark Bullingham, despite Tuchel spending large stints working remotely in Germany. Fear not, though, Tuchel has spent some time in England, mainly in chauffeured vehicles and Premier League hospitality lounges. Sitting in heated seats a couple of times a week is rough work, but someone has to do it. It is sometimes said that the England manager’s job is the hardest in football. Just don’t tell that to the person cleaning the post-match bogs at your local Sunday League side. Seemingly the only tangible thing that Tuchel has been required to produce in those months is a list of 26 male names for England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania (65th in the Fifa rankings) and Latvia (140th), two giants of the modern game. And after whittling down an initial longlist of 55 names, said list was published on Friday to a … mixed reception. There was plenty to digest. The naming of four naan goalkeepers was certainly a bold look, Marcus Rashford was back in, while the inclusion of Dominic Solanke, recently recovered from knack, over Bigger Cup quarter-finalist Ollie Watkins left more eyebrows raised than a Carlo Ancelotti lookalike convention. Dropping Harry Maguire and including another giant centre-back in the uncapped Dan Burn to head and kick the ball away from England’s goal is exactly the sort of tactical innovation that Tuchel has made a career out of. And although the German should be praised for calling up Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly, anyone with a pair of eyes and access to Luke Shaw’s medical records could probably have made that call, too. Arguably the most surprising name on the sheet is Jordan Henderson. The talented yet ageing midfielder – who will turn 36 during the 2026 World Cup – has earned an unlikely recall despite a rocky last couple of years, including controversial moves to Saudi Arabia and Ajax. “I think his career and the way [Henderson] plays now and imposes himself at Ajax is just so impressive,” justified Tuchel, seemingly unaware that Henderson missed Ajax’s Bigger Vase last-16 second-leg defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday through suspension after dissent towards Italian referee Simone Sozza in the first leg – a dismissive gesture later described as “very stupid” by Henderson himself. “Jordan builds on character, personality and energy that he brings to the team,” continued Tuchel, undeterred. “For me, Jordan is a similar call-up for the same reasons as Dan Burn. They carry these values on their shoulders and they carry their teams,” continued the German, seemingly unaware that Henderson is not even a starter these days for Ajax, named on the Dutch club’s substitute bench for each of the last three league matches. Roll on, and roll over (please), Albania and Latvia! | 