Thomas Tuchel brings an end to England's identity crisis but tough choices remain | OneFootball

Tuchel has lift-off after Serbia win but the England boss still faces some difficult decisions ahead of the World Cup next summer

That was Thomas Tuchel’s grand announcement earlier this week: that his side would be dusting off the long throw, long balls, and crosses into the box as they close in on a World Cup they hope and plan to win.

Their emphatic response, a 5-0 demolition of Serbia in Belgrade, felt a turning point in his tenure.

England thrashed Serbia 5-0 in Belgrade on Tuesday

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This was the perfect foil for a string of forgettable wins - one that will be remembered whatever happens from here.

England are cantering towards qualification for next summer’s World Cup with five wins from five and no goals conceded, yet the heavy-metal football Tuchel promised in his manifesto was nowhere to be seen before Serbia.

He was hired on an 18-month contract with the express goal of winning the World Cup; the perception beginning to form for many, however, was that this dull qualifying campaign was just the prelude before it all crashes and burns under a Champions League-winning manager showing signs he was no natural fit for international football.

Tuesday’s win was vital in changing that narrative, and provided some colour to what was a campaign to be endured, not enjoyed.

The one outlier had been far worse: June’s grim 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal, England not laboured but, rather, lifeless.

Tuchel is charismatic, an open book. Players have bought into his charm and respond well to his direct, sometimes curt feedback.

Some even phoned him over the summer to request advice on which transfer might suit them best.

He freely admits he is learning on the job, that he picked too many players for the March and June camps.

Noni Madueke’s impact against Andorra and Serbia has added to the good attacking options available to Tuchel

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Uncomfortable conversations with Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher the night before games to inform them they weren’t in the squad has prompted him to he “make these difficult decisions earlier.”

Only 24 players were called up this month, the whittling down of a swelling pool of talent already well underway.

England were disjointed under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024 yet had that tendency to keep finding a way, progressing to the final before Spain taught them what real harmony looks like.

The World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States is just nine months away, and England play only six games before Tuchel must name his final squad.

He is tasked with drawing the best out of Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Declan Rice. A first World Cup triumph on foreign soil is not going to happen without that.

Clarity brings intensity

Such limited opposition as Andorra do not lend themselves to England playing well, but they struggled to break down packed defences in their first five games under Tuchel.

After Saturday’s 2-0 win at Villa Park he said his side played with “a lot of risk”, but did they? From 83 per cent possession, only seven shots on target. Southgate’s England hammered minnows in qualifiers, and Lee Carsley’s final game as caretaker was a 5-0 win over Ireland.

Until Serbia, Tuchel’s side had not shared the same rampancy.

Criticism can go too far. Those who clamour for a recognisable identity must admit that no great team is remembered for how well they “play through chewing gum”, as Tuchel put it.

But he made a rod for his own back when he said in one of his first press conferences that England had lacked “identity” at Euro 2024.

“I understand international football better now,” he said after announcing this month’s squad, admitting he would simplify his messaging because testing multiple systems in March and June was necessary but confused players.

He is forthcoming about which players he sees ahead of others and where he sees them slotting in.

He told them on arrival at St George’s Park last Tuesday that 4-2-3-1 would remain the formation. “Once you have clarity,” he wagers, “intensity will rise and follow.”

It did. In Serbia, he saw aggression, incision, and “teamwork in its purest form”.

Ezri Konsa scores England’s third goal on a night he boosted his World Cup prospects at centre-back

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Since assuming his role on New Year’s Day, Tuchel has been popping up at Premier League grounds, and the return of direct methods, like long throws and crosses, is one trend he will pinch.

He and his assistant, Anthony Barry, will discuss how England can cash in - but why have these conversations not already happened?

After all, it was Barry whose thesis at Sheffield Hallam involved analysing all 16,154 throw-ins taken during the 2018-19 Premier League season.

At Chelsea and Bayern Munich, Tuchel could make use of vast riches and had the luxury of time.

With England, he has neither. The space afforded to his team in Belgrade allowed them to flourish.

They must keep working at wading through the chewing gum.

The fight to make the plane

Tuchel has taken a sensible approach to selecting personnel.

Thirty seven call-ups in three camps have given him insight into who might form the basis of England’s World Cup tilt.

He knows half of his 26-man final squad already and, beyond that, has made peace with form and fitness painting an ever-changing landscape.

March and June were to experiment. The autumn camps were to hone his squad; he saw this month as “starting anew”.

Kane is a cert, but understudies are in short supply. Besides Ollie Watkins, Tuchel has namechecked Morgan Rogers and Phil Foden, but these are playmakers, not serious options up front at a World Cup.

If, even at 32, Kane remains England’s most important player, Bellingham is destined in the medium-term to become their best.

Harry Kane will be crucial to England’s World Cup chances next summer

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Tuchel had to apologise to the Real Madrid star this summer after deeming his conduct on the pitch sometimes “repulsive”.

The German’s word choice on live radio was poor - wrong, he insisted - yet Tuchel was right to note Bellingham has “the fire”, “an edge” that must be harnessed for good, not dimmed.

It too often felt as though Kane, Foden and Bellingham were in each other’s way at the Euros.

Bellingham is not always positionally disciplined, not always economical with his energy, but he is comfortably world class, and it is hard to see England conquering the world without him playing a major role.

Like Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Tuchel wants to “unlock” Declan Rice as a No8, partnered with a more anchored midfielder, both behind playmaker Bellingham.

Adam Wharton is a candidate for that No6 role - historically England’s problem position - but dropped out through injury this month and Tuchel has some doubts over his ability to cover ground off the ball.

Elliot Anderson cashed in this week. Excellent on debut against Andorra, he was again a metronomic presence in Belgrade, and his instincts to win the ball back bode well.

Tuchel had been minded to try centre-back John Stones there in Serbia before he pulled out through injury.

There have also been some peculiar choices. He said the omitted Trevoh Chalobah “deserved” to be picked this month - and then gave a late call-up to Jarell Quansah instead. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was curiously summoned after seven years in the international wilderness.

And Jordan Henderson, 35, is not the captain of industry he was at Russia 2018 or Qatar 2022.

He could be seen ‘setting the standards’ in a passing drill with the 11 starters before kick-off at Villa Park, yet there were also three well-paid coaches overlooking that session.

Elliot Anderson could solve England’s midfield conundrum

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A veteran with a waning impact, taking him next summer may mean a Morgan Gibbs-White missing out.

Stones, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and Dan Burn appear the favoured quartet at centre-back, while at right-back Reece James is “slightly ahead” of Trent Alexander-Arnold, left out this month so he can “settle” at Real Madrid.

On each flank, Tuchel is spoilt for choice, especially given Noni Madueke, a scorer in Belgrade, has been the biggest winner of his reign thus far.

And how will he come to use Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Foden and Gibbs-White, given the inevitability of Bellingham?

In another age, another team, these five would each command their own spotlight.

International football is about balance, though, and Tuchel must build a winning team, not a fantasy XI.

Control what you can

At the Club World Cup this summer, Tuchel experienced how “unbelievably hot” it will be at the World Cup.

A warm-weather training week in Barcelona was a shrewd call, but England then floundered in that same heat, winning only 1-0 against Andorra, booed off after both halves.

But how much more heat training will they do? A November trip to Tirana is no dress rehearsal for 3pm, New York next July.

Tuchel is similarly hamstrung on injuries. The wins this week came without Bellingham, Palmer, Stones, Wharton, Colwill and Bukayo Saka.

Tuchel’s England are next in action against Wales on October 9 before a World Cup qualifier in Latvia on October 14

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The manager accepts “this will always happen” and will continue to adapt, but there is already so little time left to work with his players and refine.

The battering in Belgrade was the ignition England needed. But Serbia were disappointing and meaningful challenges remain rare.

At a 48-team World Cup, England may not face genuinely perilous opposition until a Brazil or Spain in the quarter-finals.

By then, it could be too late for learnings and they could be out.

No one is doubting there are obstacles ahead for Tuchel, who must control what he can and accept what he can’t.

Appointed explicitly to win the World Cup, only now after Belgrade does that feel possible.

He has much left to do in the next ten months but finally, you sense, lift-off.