There is a natural inclination in most of us to view the England squad through the prism of individual players. Why is Eberechi Eze in and Cole Palmer out? Why James Garner over Jordan Henderson? What exactly is the purpose of Jarell Quansah?

Thomas Tuchel doesn’t quite see it that way. You see it in his passion for the “brotherhood” he created before the World Cup, in his idea that preserving connections forged during far-flung qualifiers in the winter months would stand the team in better stead than selections based on ability alone. We tend to see him picking players; he sees himself building a kinship.

That difference in thinking was in evidence here at Wembley on Friday, where much of the manager’s press conference was spent fielding questions about individuals picked to face Croatia and Spain next week. Why Josh King? Do you see Djed Spence as right or left-back? There was even a reversal of one of Tuchel’s least favourite topics: why didn’t you drop Trent Alexander-Arnold?

By the third question about Palmer – excluded here having been scolded by Tuchel in September after withdrawing from England duty – the German offered a wry smile before batting it away with his shortest, bluntest answer yet. “The door is always open, but nothing has changed, and we decided to do this camp without him.”

Yet when asked about his team’s evolution since the World Cup, Tuchel opened up, diving into a monologue which revealed plenty about his holistic approach to squad building and how carefully he considers interpersonal dynamics. He admitted he felt “worried” about levels slipping during September’s international break when so many of his dressing-room leaders were absent through injury.

“I was a bit concerned before the last [camp] because we missed Dean Henderson, John Stones, Dan Burn, Jordan Henderson, Reece James, players who were really responsible for the attitude, for the energy in the World Cup. They played this huge part, not only in minutes, but for the atmosphere and the standards throughout the camp.

“The group found their own way, found new leadership, found a new way to engage with each other and build a very exciting camp with another good atmosphere. They found straight away new voices to set the standards. I had to give Dan and Jordan, for example, difficult phone calls, Dean Henderson as well, which was very difficult because I am very aware what they did for us during qualifiers and during the World Cup, and I think they built a very strong foundation on which these players now benefit from.”

A newly arranged England squad were mostly brilliant in those four Nations League games in September and October, winning three and only losing narrowly to Spain after a rare missed penalty by Harry Kane. Just as he did 12 months earlier, Tuchel wants to bottle that spirit now.

“The boys who were in camp did something extraordinary throughout these two and a half weeks, and that’s why the credit goes to them. The trust is for them … That’s why we stick mainly with the same crew.”

By picking most of the players who were involved in September, Tuchel was effectively laying down a challenge, a test of their cohesion: you were sensational in the first four games, scoring 14 goals, the most of any team in the Nations League so far, and conceding only three. So can you maintain the level?

“It’s kind of a proof of concept,” he enthused. “Can we do it again without these big personalities, without these voices? Because they showed they can, and now we have two big matches coming on. It doesn’t mean that the door is closed for these kind of players, because I’m well aware what they can do and what they bring to a team. But we decided to give this group a second push.

“We only have basically Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare the Thursday match [against Croatia at Wembley], which is in itself also a reason to stick mainly with the group that was with us. Because we developed some new patterns, we developed some new behaviours, and it will be very, very difficult to learn all that within two days.”

Tuchel was steadfast in his approach to the World Cup, sticking with the bulk of that squad who dominated qualifying without conceding a single goal. The signs are that he will be consistent here too. Those players inside the fold have the strongest chance of being involved in the Nations League quarter-finals in March, when England will have a serious chance of winning a trophy.

For those on the outside, such as Palmer and Foden, and even reliable stalwarts like Stones, James and Henderson, history suggests they will have to do something very special over the next four months for Tuchel to upset the new harmony he has stumbled upon.

“It's always about the ones who are in camp,” Tuchel added. “It’s always about the ones who don’t withdraw, who walk the talk and come to camp and show that it matters and put the quality in. That was always the message very, very early since we took charge: that it matters if you are in camp and it matters what you do in camp. And the last camp was an excellent one, so the trust and the belief is on the players we have.”

England squad for November internationals

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jason Steele, James Trafford.

Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben White.

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Jobe Bellingham, Jude Bellingham, James Garner, Josh King, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice.

Forwards: Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Gordon, Rio Ngumoha, Morgan Rogers