For Marc Guéhi, a momentary flicker of uncertainty was natural. The Crystal Palace centre‑half had excelled for England at Euro 2024, establishing himself as a key pick under Gareth Southgate, and his standing stayed secure after Lee Carsley’s tenure in the initial part of last season.
Then came the new boss, and it is worth remembering that this was the coach who had approved Guéhi’s transfer from Chelsea to Palace in the offseason of 2021. Guéhi certainly remembered that. Did Tuchel rate him? When the fresh leadership brought another defender into the lineup for his first game in charge, versus Albania at Wembley in March, with Guéhi as an unused substitute, it wasn’t great.
Tuchel selected Guéhi in the following game, versus Latvia, again at Wembley, before he was unable to select him for his next gathering in June, which took in the matches against Andorra on the road and Senegal in Nottingham. Guéhi had sustained an eye injury during Palace’s historic FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
“In my opinion it’s natural for any footballer to almost question that,” Guéhi states, looking back at his absence from Albania. “As you’d expect, fresh coach arriving … it’s unclear what the squad’s going to look like, who knows who’s going to feature?”
The thing Guéhi then did was what he always does – stay completely in the moment, as composed as possible. Which would serve him well during a dramatic end to the summer transfer window when the Palace chair, Steve Parish, blocked his planned transfer to Liverpool.
The following day, Guéhi joined up with England for the matches versus Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade and he worked like a man possessed. Nobody would have known about any internal turmoil. It is difficult not to see that camp and those matches as a pivotal moment for Guéhi, the time when he earned Tuchel around. The 25-year-old started in each and was particularly good in the five-nil win over Serbia, even adding his maiden strike for his country.
The faith works both ways. Tuchel has this knack of bringing players in, of supporting them; it was a primary reasons why the FA hired him. “I think what the manager has done is demonstrate a lot of faith in each of us,” Guéhi comments. “Any time we receive the opportunity, we aim to display what we can do.”
Faith as the Theme
Faith is the focus – and not just because Guéhi is the child of a church minister and deeply Christian. England face Wales in a exhibition at Wembley on Thursday night before traveling to Riga to play Latvia in their sixth World Cup qualifying tie next Tuesday and Tuchel has framed it all with his squad selection.
It was, quite, the most remarkable demonstration of confidence in the players from the previous camp, those who had traveled to Serbia and sparked Tuchel’s tenure. Each of the 24 who are available have been retained – so not Tino Livramento or Noni Madueke, who have serious injuries. Or Reece James, who was obliged to pull out on Monday because of a less serious one.
Tuchel’s Choices and Team Unity
Tuchel’s decision to omit the returned Jude Bellingham has led the conversation – to the extent that the exclusion of Phil Foden, who is also fully recovered, has been made as a something of a afterthought.
What should not be overlooked – and what Tuchel hopes won’t be ignored – is how he has stood by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was a late call-up in September to replace the hurt Adam Wharton, despite Loftus-Cheek having lost his spot in Milan’s Serie A side. Or how he kept Jarell Quansah, who came in for the injured John Stones in September, although the latter now being OK and in the group. However, Quansah himself was forced to withdraw on Wednesday because of a knock.
This is how a manager creates a meritocracy, how he builds connections. Tuchel admired the team behind the team in Serbia, the unsung heroes on the sidelines, and he aimed to recognize them. Bellingham or Loftus‑Cheek? Is that a debate? Tuchel has essentially turned it into one for this camp – and he sees an upside in the message he has sent. Past accolades will not sway him. Acting as a good teammate will.
Creating a Strong Unit
Coinciding with good timing that Steven Gerrard opened up in an discussion with his former England colleague Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday, disclosing how self-centered and divided their much-hyped talented era team was. The talent was not in doubt; it was the environment that limited them and Tuchel is set to fix this. He was speaking about a “close-knit group” within the team before his initial match.
“There’s any animosity between anybody,” Guéhi explains. “We are, as we put it when we’re here, the England squad. No matter has gone on in the past or whatever is going on in the season, you put that behind. You come here, these become your closest allies, your teammates, the players that you battle with for however long you’re here.
“The atmosphere is always positive when we’re here. The FA, past coaches and the players themselves, the backroom team, have done a excellent role at fostering an atmosphere. Additionally, it comes down to the players to actually buy into that. I think every single person has bought into that superbly because I enjoy immensely coming here and I know the rest of the lads feel the same, too.”
Future Focus
That which Tuchel wants versus Wales is a showing that stirs the Wembley fans. Those versus Albania and Latvia were steady sufficient; the victories welcome, the initial progress on the road to the World Cup next year. But they were not thrillers. Will the side build on the intensity they showed in Serbia? The final words belong to Guéhi.
“For me, worrying is a natural feeling,” he states about being benched against Albania. “But I was selected in that group. It means that the boss has opted for me for this chance and whether I’m playing or not I’ll always back the team.
“So for me, fretting can be a futile effort. You only get so many days on this planet. I prefer to be positive and concentrated and assist the people that I can – or improve personally – by being the finest that I can be instead of stressing.”
