It has only been 20 months since his first game in charge but, make no mistake, this is already Thomas Tuchel 2.0 for England.

Out with the old (no recalls for Jordan Henderson or Dan Burn) and in with the new – welcome Josh King and Jobe Bellingham – was very much the theme of Tuchel’s last England squad of 2026.

Of the 22 outfield players for the November Nations League games against Croatia and Spain, only half of them were part of Tuchel’s World Cup squad. The average age of the squad (25.64) is almost two years younger than the one that travelled to the United States.

Tuchel had emphasised the need for experience and know-how after succeeding Sir Gareth Southgate, but the first incarnation of England under the former Chelsea head coach is now well and truly over.

Those crying out for a change in the dugout after the World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina may have been left disappointed, but Tuchel has undoubtedly decided it is time for a new England era in preparation for the 2028 European Championship.

When it was put to him that it seems we have entered Tuchel 2.0 with England, the head coach said: “It has to be like this. We said at some point we need to take the next step, to build on what we have, to get better and to improve otherwise you’re just left behind. That’s how football works.

“You need to improve, you need to bring in new players for competition, young players, new energy, fresh energy – it’s just the way the game goes and it’s the way, naturally, the national team goes.”

Without 36-year-old Henderson and 34-year-old Burn, Tuchel was impressed with the togetherness of his more youthful squad – which has now got even younger – in the last camp when England followed a defeat to Spain with victories over Czech Republic and Croatia.

That empowered him to be even bolder with his latest squad, calling up 19-year-old King and 21-year-old Bellingham while leaving out Cole Palmer and warning Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White that they were close to missing out.

Tuchel said: “We cannot be stuck in the same personnel, in the same style of play and I agreed with you – I was the first to admit I was not 100 per cent happy with the pure level of football we played in the US. I saw a higher level in training, I saw a higher level in glimpses and I think we took a next step.”

Asked if he believes he has solved the problem of England’s style of play, Tuchel added: “Hopefully. We took a huge step and now it is on us, together, and the staff and players to stick to it through the next two crucial matches.”

Insisting Phil Foden remains in his thoughts, Tuchel fired a warning to Eze and Gibbs-White by saying: “It’s also close for Eze to keep his place. He’s not starting for Arsenal. So the advantage was maybe that Gibbs-White and Eze come again into camp, that they have been in camp. Because they need to fight for it. That’s what we want. And Phil is always close.”

Tuchel’s almost faultless English did not extend to knowing what “reinvigorated” meant, but when it was put to the German that he looked refreshed and rejuvenated on Friday, he said: “The last camp gave me a lot of energy, gave me a lot of extra belief.

“I always believed, also through the World Cup, that we can overcome a lot of obstacles if we have the right energy and I still believe that was down to group selection and down to what we built and our mentality. But the last camp gave me a lot of belief and a lot of optimism to combine the two, to not compromise on the energy, to not compromise on the mentality and on the way England teams should play. We should fight for it and also be physical, but also step up in the pure level of performance.”

Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka were told they needed to take on more responsibility ahead of the last camp, and Tuchel has been encouraged that the squad can now cope without Henderson and Burn.

Tuchel said: “I was a bit worried in the first camp because we were missing so many internal leaders, but the group did excellently in a new style, in a new leadership way but in their style. We adjusted some things tactically, created some new positions and took the next steps.

“Very naturally, for example, Dan Burn is a big personality, a big voice in training and if he’s not there the centre-backs need to be the voice. Ezri of course, Marc Guéhi of course, Jarell Quansah if he plays centre-back – they need to be the voice. They are a little bit forced into this role, not only in the matches but also in training.

“Jordan Henderson takes care of every training session, of setting the standard, of course other central players, central midfielders from the World Cup then have a new status. Elliot Anderson, who was maybe a newcomer a year before, becomes such a huge player during the World Cup so he takes care of that naturally.

“Mainly it was the players we rely on heavily for the minutes – Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Jude, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Ezri, Marc – these six, seven players, they were the players. We actually said it to them on the first day of camp, ‘you need to make sure we have the same standards, like at the World Cup’.

“The group I just mentioned was the group I said straight away to you that I want to have a group that starts matches regularly for us. These were the players without having a guarantee. But I said ‘I want you to start these matches and you make sure first of all that you start and you make sure the energy, attitude, standards within the group are at the highest level’. And that has not changed. Declan has joined the group now. So they are basically a leadership group on the field.”