Eberechi Eze: England’s Unexpected Catalyst in the Tuchel Revolution | OneFootball

From overlooked to unmissable: How Eze is carving out a World Cup role

When Thomas Tuchel first cast his meticulous eye over Eberechi Eze, the numbers didn’t dazzle. In a squad brimming with elite attacking midfielders—Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka—it was hard to justify a player who had scored just twice from 83 league efforts. But Tuchel, ever the architect rather than collector of stars, saw something else.

Selhurst to Wembley: The Start of the Transformation

A quiet trip to Selhurst Park in March was the first real step. Tuchel texted Eze and other England hopefuls at Crystal Palace ahead of their match with Ipswich. Eze underwhelmed that day—by recent standards, he was among the least effective players in a narrow win—but what stood out to Tuchel wasn’t in the stats. It was how Eze conducted himself.

There was encouragement, humility, poise in the warm-up, and grace after error. These intangible qualities—hard to log in data columns—were exactly the traits Tuchel is building his 2026 World Cup squad around. That alone was enough to earn a call-up.

Flying Since March: Goals, Confidence, and a Cup Final Masterclass

Photo IMAGO

Then came the transformation.

Off the bench against Latvia, Eze scored his first goal in almost three months. It was the spark. Ten goals followed in just 14 appearances—including the winner in the FA Cup final, with Tuchel watching from the stands at Wembley.

From a 2.4% conversion rate—second worst in the Premier League—to a ruthless 31.6% since that March call-up, only one player in Europe has outstripped him in that period. Tuchel summed it up best: “He’s flying.”

More Than Numbers: The Intangibles Tuchel Craves

This isn’t just a player in form. It’s a player thriving in the furnace of elite football. England camps have become accelerants for Eze’s growth rather than intimidating proving grounds. He’s responded to intensity with exuberance, pressure with poise.

Tuchel doesn’t view his England squad as a rigid XI padded with fringe options. It’s a blend. A structure in search of symmetry, chemistry, and emotional intelligence. While names like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham dominate headlines, it was telling that Tuchel, unprompted, listed “Ebbs” alongside Bellingham and Foden when discussing goalscoring midfielders.

Eze’s Edge: Unpredictability in an Age of Algorithms

Eze, unlike others, brings chaos. Not recklessness—but the kind of randomness that scrambles defensive matrices and resists tactical predictability. It’s the same quality that saw him dubbed “Drunken Master” by coaches at QPR, a nod to his balletic sway and deceptive body feints.

His rise has been unorthodox. Rejected by academies for being “too slight”, Eze was finally embraced at QPR. Their £19.5 million windfall in 2020 has since looked a steal for Crystal Palace. That value has soared—thanks to a £60m release clause with £8m in add-ons active this summer.

England’s Hidden Gem or Centrepiece in Waiting?

For now, Tuchel is sculpting. September brings a shift towards clarity, and not everyone will survive the cut. But Eze is no longer on the fringe. He’s a player whose rare blend of creativity and maturity could be the X-factor in England’s bid to finally win a major tournament.

And sometimes, as Tuchel clearly knows, the most valuable piece is the one you nearly overlooked.