England: Thomas Tuchel embraces Mikel Arteta philosophy to give squad new World Cup edge | OneFootball

Three Lions swept past eastern Europeans 2-0 at Wembley

It was hard not to feel for Serbia. As the rain poured down at Wembley, their aim of qualifying for next year’s World Cup was fading away.

With 25 minutes to go, though, they were trailing only 1-0 and there was still a glimmer of hope - until England called for the cavalry. It was quite the flex from Thomas Tuchel, who was able to bring on Eberechi Eze, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and the experienced Jordan Henderson all at once.

The second goal duly came and it was made by the bench. Bellingham won the ball and found Foden, who carried it 30 yards before teeing up Eze.

The Arsenal playmaker finished the move with a wonderful, curling strike that found the top corner.It was a devastating example of the depth England have at their disposal, especially in attack, going into next summer’s World Cup.

Few sides could make the changes England did on Thursday night and Tuchel is acutely aware of that.He has not christened his substitutes with a nickname, but may well do.

At Arsenal, Mikel Arteta refers to them as ‘finishers’. Rugby World Cup champions South Africa have dubbed their bench the ‘Bomb Squad’.

“I kind of like it,” said Tuchel. “I like ‘Bomb Squad’ a bit more than ‘finisher’.

“That’s the nature of this game. The possibility that we go to Albania and finish with the same XI goes to zero, and even more so in a tournament.

“This is not about building a starting XI, it is about building a team. And that means that sometimes…they are all big players in their clubs.

“They are all used to playing. They are all disappointed - everyone, this is normal. But they buy into this idea of building a team and this is what we want. This is what we need.

“There is no other way around it. Only if we are a strong group, who can put the ego behind, who can put the disappointment behind, and then contribute and give the coach a headache [as to] what we do in the next match.”

Super subs: Phil Foden and Eberechi Eze

Action Images via Reuters

Whether he plumps for a fancy nickname or not, Tuchel is right that he needs his players to buy into such an ethos.The German was clear this week that he will not be crowbarring players into the team, explaining how Bellingham, Foden and Kane cannot play together in the same XI.

Tuchel was true to that on Thursday, with Kane’s departure prompting the arrival of Bellingham and Foden.The pair gave England a new dimension in attack, with Foden excelling as a false nine and interchanging well with Bellingham.

Both players made points after returning to the squad and, going forward, it is hard to see how they do not factor into Tuchel’s plans.What role they play will be up to him, but the prospect of having either Bellingham or Foden on the bench as an impact player is surely a frightening thought for England’s World Cup rivals.

“You could see the impact today and it has to stay like this. We just need everybody fully involved, especially mentally, to accept the decision of the match day - and then to continue.”

Tuchel’s willingness to have players of Bellingham and Foden’s calibre on the bench is a refreshing change from his predecessors.He is creating a culture - both externally and internally - where the idea of a star player being an impact option is accepted.

In the past, leaving someone like Bellingham or Foden out would have created a headline. It still can going forward, but now for the right reasons.