Some of England’s fringe stars will get the opportunity to impress Thomas Tuchel for the final time on Friday night as they bid to secure their spots on the plane to the World Cup
Thomas Tuchel has warned England’s World Cup hopefuls are facing a last chance saloon at Wembley. Tuchel will field an experimental line-up against Uruguay and for some of the starters it will be their final audition to force their way into the squad for this summer.
England boss Tuchel picked a 35-man squad with several players going home after this weekend to make way for the more established stars to play against Japan next Tuesday.
Tuchel said: “We address the reality and encourage everyone to be the best version of themselves and to enjoy it. It is the last camp before the World Cup. That’s just how it is, and everyone tries to impress.
“We encourage them to be good team-mates and be positive, train with a positive attitude, and connect as fast as possible, because some of them are new, some of them haven’t been in camp for quite a long time. And everyone did this. Very positive about these days together.
READ MORE: BBC and ITV given green light to show World Cup games on YouTube in landmark dealREAD MORE: Noni Madueke in no mood to ‘sulk’ as he bids to nail down World Cup place“And hopefully we can show it tomorrow. It will be a new lineup, a new mix of teams. It is not always easy. And then suddenly you get the chance.
“Everything is new, not only for yourself but for your team-mates and you. And this is not always easy but we take it into consideration and go from there, and at the moment we are very positive. Hopefully they can show it tomorrow.”
Tuchel delivered clear messages to Chelsea’s Cole Palmer who has not played for England since last June and also Arsenal defender Ben White.
White is back in the squad after quitting on England during the 2022 World Cup and Tuchel urged the fans not to boo him while he admitted there is “pressure on” Palmer to force his way into the squad.
Tuchel added: “I think he (White) deserves a second chance. I want to give him a second chance. He has not put a foot wrong with me. Something must have happened, because if a player leaves from a tournament it’s never good and it never can be nothing.
“I’m not sure if ‘apologise’ is the right word, but maybe just to clear the air with the players who were there, I think he has done and will do with the majority of the players who come now.
“He plays for England and we play in a positive moment. He deserves a second chance. We will have some new players on the pitch so I hope everyone can support him.
“Honestly, Cole has to show because we have more evidence without him than with him so the pressure is on him. He had a difficult season but he has also had a difficult spell with the national team.”
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