On his arrival as England head coach last year, and with what was a signpost for his often unfiltered honesty, Thomas Tuchel said: ‘The identity, the clarity, the rhythm, the repetition of patterns. The freedom of players, the expression of players, the hunger. They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament, in my observation, than having the excitement and hunger to win it.’
He was talking about Gareth Southgate’s England at Euro 2024. Those of us present, at both the tournament and Tuchel’s subsequent critique, could not disagree.
Yet here we are four matches into Tuchel’s World Cup and, hunger apart, the same assessment could be made of his team. Where is the identity, beyond relying on Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham to produce big moments? Where is the clarity to their play? The rhythm?
It felt revealing, when challenged on those shortcomings, that Tuchel’s best example came from England’s final warm-up match against Costa Rica. That was nearly four weeks ago versus a team who did not qualify.
‘We looked with a clear identity against Costa Rica, but we lost a little bit the lightness and the rhythm,’ he said, ahead of the last-16 tie against Mexico here in Mexico City. ‘Maybe from tension and from the opponent. But we found it in glimpses in the match versus Croatia. Then, the next two matches were just very difficult.’
The vision Tuchel and his staff had for England at this World Cup remains just that – a vision. A more coordinated press, greater cohesion between the units, greater incision from wide areas and more composure in possession. Instead, it has been seat-of-your-pants stuff, and Kane and Bellingham have worn the trousers.
Thomas Tuchel said England were more afraid to lose than excited to win under Gareth Southgate but the same criticism could be levelled against his team
Tuchel challenged the suggestion that the style he envisaged has been parked and all roads now lead to his best players, but he did not deny that the team has looked awkward.
‘We haven’t abandoned it (the preferred style) at all, but we’re working on it,’ he said. ‘We are fully committed to the press and the effort that we put in, but it’s not economical. We don’t choose the moments great. We go too early. We are impatient and it has knock-on effects.
‘It’s also a little bit too fast in our attacks. We need to worship more the moments and understand that sometimes the door is closed. It doesn’t help if you rush into it – try the other door! And worship the ball possession, also to recharge. Otherwise, we just run our batteries down with not so much reward.
‘But I don’t think we’re “over-relying”. What does this mean? That Barcelona and Argentina over-rely on Messi? It’s just what it is. Everyone is doing their job to find these spaces for Harry, and then Harry is doing what he does.
‘But everyone is committed and everyone is involved when we scored goals, so it seems like a one-man show, but it is not a one-man show for anyone. You see the top players scoring at this World Cup, clearly.
‘I think we will get better once the playing field levels out, when we’re not this huge favourite and the teams will come to actually beat us and expect to beat us themselves. I think this is where we will see our identity and quality coming out more.’
By that reckoning, we should see Tuchel’s England at the Azteca Stadium against Mexico. Except, this will be a game played amid 75-per-cent humidity and at 7,000 feet above sea level.
It is the hosts, who have won every match, who have had a day extra to prepare, who have been based here since before the tournament began, who will be backed by close to 80,000 partisan locals. Tuchel-ball, you suspect, will have to wait. But perhaps not as long as we thought – the German has a plan.
Mexico, pictured after their win over Ecuador, are likely to press England hard early on
‘Other teams who went in there late, without acclimatisation, tell us that the first 15 to 20 minutes is where you basically hit a wall,’ he said. ‘But when you go through it, it gets better. And that’s exactly why Mexico start their games like this. They just want to suffocate you. Let’s see. We have a plan, we will be fine. I think we will be fine.’
Tuchel also told ITV: ‘I felt this before the tournament, that if we reach the point where Mexico comes, this can really be the moment (where we take off).’
But before taking off, England must contain. Tuchel’s approach will likely be to absorb pressure through a central block before releasing his mobile forwards into space in behind. If so, at least it would represent an identity, a plan. This needs to be different from what we have seen so far, because it will take a collective to beat Mexico, not just individuals.
Fail to deliver, and the post-mortem will sound remarkably familiar.
