Brave New World

Thomas Tuchel; no stranger to controversy; has done the unthinkable. He has left out a whole host of top stars for England's World Cup squad; something which simply has never been done before.

Phil Foden; Cole Palmer; Trent Arnold-Alexander; Harry Maguire; Luke Shaw; Morgan Gibbs-White; Jarred Bowen; Adam Wharton & Lewis Hall can now enjoy their summer in Barbados after being left off the plane to US; Canada & Mexico this June. All were considered near-certainties; as Tuchel stressed the preference of the 'team' over 'individual' selection.

In their place are some shocking additions such as John Stones; who has hardly featured for Manchester City this season due to injury; Ivan Toney, who seemed way off the radar in Saudi Arabia; Jarrel Quansah, a forgotten man now at Bayer Leverkusen; and Jordan Henderson, the Brentford midfielder thought way past his Liverpool best.

The pressure is now well & truly on Tuchel; as the country bids to end their long 60-year wait to win the greatest prize on Earth.