Taking wildcards, leaving out stars - the art of World Cup squad building
· Yahoo Sports
Thomas Tuchel has some tough decisions to make.
As he hosts the last international camp before naming his preliminary England squad for the World Cup, the German has to figure out which players he wants to take to North America - and which ones to leave at home.
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He has spoken previously about working from a long list of 55 players for squad selection, and while several of those will already be out of contention in his mind, selecting a final list of 23 will not be easy. Especially as it's not a case of simply picking the most talented players.
"It'll be very important that we don't select just for talent, but also for what we need from a player," Tuchel said in January.
"What the social skills are of a player, is he a good team-mate? Can he support if his role is maybe the supporting role? So, this is where the focus is."
International managers have a long track record of getting this wrong when it comes to major tournaments. A squad packed with stars may look great on paper, but when they are forced to sit on the bench for their country instead of starting every match, it can cause friction.
For Tuchel, that dilemma is increasingly pertinent, as he tries to decide which of a host of talented attacking midfielders he should pick. The Three Lions are incredibly well-stocked in that area, but can he keep all of them happy if they are doing more training than playing?
Christian Ziege witnessed this in 1998 as part of a Germany squad brimming with talent, who were underwhelming before losing 3-0 to Croatia in the quarter-finals.
"We had so many leaders in that team, or at least too many players who thought they were leaders, who had to be in the first XI and had to play," said the former Bayern Munich and Tottenham defender.
"Sometimes it's about taking a decision that says 'OK, this is a fantastic player and he has so many abilities, but I think the other person is better than him'.
"Then you have to think if it's intelligent to take two players in the same position. If you leave one out, he's not happy. So the mood was not good in the team."
Paul Gascoigne was famously left out of England's 1998 World Cup squad by manager Glenn Hoddle [Getty Images]That was undoubtedly one of the key reasons for Glenn Hoddle leaving Paul Gascoigne out of his England squad at the same tournament.
There was no doubting Gazza's ability, but if he was not going to be in the starting XI, then he could become a distraction as a squad player - even if he did not cause a fuss himself, the media clamour for the midfielder to play would.
Gazza is not the only big name to suffer that fate. France boss Didier Deschamps said it could be "felt in the squad" that Samir Nasri was not happy when he was not a starter after leaving the midfielder out in 2014, highlighting the process managers need to go through when making their final selection.
Maintaining squad harmony is key for any tournament selection when players are in camps that could stretch for weeks on end, even more so at this summer's World Cup with more countries making for an even longer schedule.
It comes by not only avoiding the selection of bad apples among the pack, but also including others who create a positive atmosphere.
Tuchel has spoken about the need to create a "brotherhood" among England's squad this summer, and pointed to the character and energy the likes of Jordan Henderson and Dan Burn offer the group beyond their playing abilities.
Whereas Henderson's continued selection, in particular, has been questioned, it is easily explainable by considering his role in creating a high-performance environment.
A sense of consistency is important to maintain that, so players know what to expect when they arrive for international camps and allow a squad hierarchy to form, despite not spending much time together. Chopping and changing this close to the tournament is not a good sign.
"I always had around 16 or 17 players who were the same in each squad, so it was just a matter of adding a few players," explained former Switzerland head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld in the book, How to Win the World Cup: Secrets and Insights from International Football's Top Managers.
"You can't change national teams too much, you need a core group of players. If a player has a small crisis in club football, you have to keep in mind that his national team is a different team in a different environment and they can play well with you again."
Room for a curveball?
Paolo Rossi scored six goals and won the Golden Boot to help Italy win the 1982 World Cup [Getty Images]If a settled squad is so crucial in the run-up to a tournament, that does not leave much space for late inclusions. Yet trace back through history and countless managers have not been able to resist the chance to throw in a curveball before a World Cup - with varying success.
Previous England bosses Sven-Goran Eriksson and Bobby Robson were two of the most left-field, calling up Theo Walcott and Steve Bull respectively - both arguing that their picks provided an element of surprise to opposition.
A 17-year-old Walcott did not play a single minute under Eriksson in 2006, whereas Wolves striker Bull, who had impressed in the second tier, made four appearances at Italia '90 without scoring.
But their selections show that some managers feel there is enough room to pick a wildcard for a tournament.
Eriksson told Sky Sports in 2020 that he had gambled on Walcott instead of calling up more proven back-up strikers Jermain Defoe or Darren Bent because "the player picked at number 23 will not win the World Cup for you".
In which case, why not take a punt?
That does not have to be an untested player, though. It can be naming an injured star in a World Cup squad when it is touch and go if they will feature, or backing a past favourite to rediscover their form as the tournament progresses.
Take the inclusion of Paolo Rossi in Italy's squad at the 1982 World Cup, having only just returned from a match-fixing ban.
Manager Enzo Bearzot's selection was roundly criticised at first because of the Juventus striker's poor condition, but it proved to be a masterstroke. Rossi scored a hat-trick against Brazil to propel them into the semi-finals, where he scored two more to see off Poland. In the final he scored the opener as the Azurri beat West Germany 3-1.
It just goes to show that an entire campaign is not necessarily undermined by the final XI, but by the wrong 23.
It is a reality Tuchel is all too aware of as he ponders those tough decisions before this summer's World Cup - with his final squad selection indicating quite how ruthless he will be under tournament conditions.