I don't know what to make of the England squad

Hey will you look at that, it’s Thomas Tuchel’s first competitive matches as England manager. He doesn’t exactly have a full squad at his disposal — Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Bukayo Saka are the most notable absences through injury.

I hope this doesn’t come off as disrespectful, but I expect England to capture 6 points against Albania and Latvia, even if they’re not at their best. We’re not likely to learn very much about the long-term prospects of Tuchel’s squad in these games, but we might learn a bit about his tactical framework and thinking on some of the big picture choices he has to make.

Back 3 or 4?

Tuchel has shown off quite a bit of tactical versatility in his managerial career, opting for both back 3 and 4 systems at various points. Most of the lineup predictions you’ll see floating around assume a 4-2-3-1 shape that’s a bit of a continuation of the previous regime, but I think the England squad has some very nice back 3 personnel.

Dan Burn, Levi Colwill and Kyle Walker all stick out to me as players who are better on the outside of a back 3 than they are in a center back or fullback role in a back 4. A back 3 system with wingbacks could also make the most of Reece James and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s attacking abilities. Just some food for thought.

What’s Jordan Henderson doing here?

Those hoping that a new coach would usher in a new era were quite disappointed to see a 34-year-old who hasn’t been at his best in several years get a call-up to the team.

There’s no doubt that Henderson still has some excellent passing vision:

But the rest of his game is lacking at this point in his career. England has a bit of a defensive midfield depth problem, but any of Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes or Adam Wharton would have been a welcome sight, even if they don’t play the exact same way. Even if Henderson is the best solution today (and I’m not convinced he is), he is highly unlikely to still be that 15 months from now.

Can (or should) Jude Bellingham play deeper?

Gen Z, you have your own Lampard-Gerrard conundrum. Can Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham play together? Should they? Can you really justify dropping one of your 5 best players for a better tactical fit?

Palmer is out with an injury, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Tuchel just roll with Bellingham at the 10 ahead of Henderson and Declan Rice. But the question of how to get Bellingham and Palmer on the pitch together is one that will need solving eventually.

Occasionally, for both England and Real Madrid, Bellingham has played in a deeper role. How well suited to it is he? Well… he’s probably not a good enough passer from deep.

I really think they’re a one or the other thing. I wouldn’t put Bellingham and Palmer on the pitch together. It’ll be interesting to find out if Tuchel disagrees.

Stuff we’re reading

Bill Connelly at ESPN ranks the best teams in Europe by how entertaining they are to watch.

Tom Curren at Scouted talked to Antonio Nusa about the ups and downs of his career.

Kurosh Moghtader at Total Football Analysis broke down Jeremie Frimpong’s skillset and where his career might go next.

Uma Gurav at The Cutback on how Manchester City women upset Chelsea in the Champions League.

Leander Schaerlaeckens at The Guardian covers the United States’ disappointing loss to Panama.

Paul Tenorio at The Athletic analyzes why USL — currently a tier below MLS, and hoping to become a direct competitor — has decided to implement promotion and relegation.

Matt Watts at Not The Top 20 takes a look at some of the best young goalkeepers in the EFL.

Andrew Newton at Football Heritage has the history of why Sunderland are called the Black Cats.

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