Thomas Tuchel has revealed he needed to hold "clear-the-air" talks with Ivan Toney before considering the striker's recall for the 2026 World Cup, admitting he was "not happy" with the forward's "level of training and level of commitment" during last year's June camp.
The England manager reopened communication with Toney around the time of submitting the provisional 55-man list a few weeks ago, following a frank discussion that allowed them to start afresh. As Tuchel weighed the various "obstacles" and "scenarios" posed by the expanded 48-team tournament in challenging conditions, he gradually concluded that the Al-Ahli striker offered multiple solutions, enough to edge out Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who was close to a call-up.
Tuchel's concerns and resolution
"I was not happy with the June camp," Tuchel said of Toney. "He knows that. And we had to clear the air after that. That was the first step to even start thinking about calling him up again, because I was not happy. That was then out of the picture and no more issues."
"And then we started talking more deeply about the team and started talking different scenarios and what would be the most offensive lineup if we are going 1-0 down with 15 minutes to play, ten minutes plus extra time we need a goal. We are pushing. We are around the box. Balls are flying into the box. What are scenarios? Then his name comes up constantly. Because he has a presence."
"Harry loves to play with him, because he thinks that he takes the attention off him. He is even more of an old-school No 9 than Harry himself. So would he be a player you would like to fall the ball down to if there is a ricochet in the box? Yes. Absolutely. Would he be the player that you want to have this touch? Does he take, with his presence, the attention off other strikers? Yes."
Set-piece and penalty expertise
"We are trying to build a strong set-piece squad. He can have his role there, defensively and offensively, and he is a world-class penalty taker. He ticks suddenly a lot of boxes. It was necessary that we talked with him again and clarified with him if he's happy to come."
"The closest to him was then Dominic Calvert-Lewin because he's also strong in the air. He could help us with set pieces. He's a very good penalty taker. And after having another conversation with [Toney] and having good feedback from his club coach – very good feedback – and having good feedback from the Euros in Germany, we decided to reopen the door and invite him in."
Tuchel said it "took a while" to have the chat with Toney, and that he had done considerable background work. Assistant coach Justin Cochrane was dispatched to watch the 30-year-old in the Saudi Pro League, and there was constant dialogue with club manager Matthias Jaissle, a former Tuchel player.
"It took a while, and it was in the last weeks, when we started deeply to talk about the selection, like after basically the nomination for the 55, or around the nomination of the group of 55, we made sure we are on the same page going forward, to even put him on the 55, and then from there stayed in touch, to make the decision to put him in."
Maguire statement deemed unnecessary
Tuchel also commented on Harry Maguire's statement after learning he would not make the squad, calling it "not necessary". Asked for his feelings, the manager said: "Surprised, and I think it was not necessary. I felt his disappointment. I felt that he was upset. He expressed it, which is fair enough. I can see all the arguments to have in camp. I respect him a lot as a player. I respect him even more for his quality that he showed in March. As a football player, I can see all the arguments to have him in camp, but it's just a decision, not a personal decision, just a decision for someone else. It was not necessary. Let's put it like this."
Tuchel revealed he made calls to all 50 players who had been with the camp, as well as Luke Shaw. He said he still felt he learned something from every response.
"The ones who were close, and to be totally open the reaction also of the players towards the disappointment just also plays a factor. Because I learned a lot yesterday from all the phone calls. And it gave me just confirmation, who would pick the phone up happily when we call. Even [if they were] in Australia on holiday. Who will be actually: 'When do I have to be where?'"
Psychologists monitoring camp
On the same theme, Tuchel has had psychologists, led by Richard Hampson, monitor the camp to assess how players and staff communicate. "They're just part of the process, they're listening to our language," the England manager explained. "They're just part of our, more or less, part of our meetings in a formal way. They're listening to our language. They're listening to how we talk about players, how we talk about the set-up of teams, and then he is part of our staff."
"Rich, he's part of the youth teams and develops and observes communication, behaviours within the group, behaviours within the matches and compares it to other national teams on the highest level and shows us opportunity where to improve. He upskills the leadership group. He gives us feedback and observations throughout the camp."
