Thomas Tuchel’s England have safely navigated their way through to next summer’s World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
In addition to winning all eight qualifiers, The Three Lions have also gone through their entire campaign without conceding a goal.
Today, we discuss what we have learnt about the squad and what Tuchel may do when England arrives for the tournament.
Kane, Bellingham, and Foden cannot Play Together
Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Phil Foden are three of England’s biggest superstars. But the debate we are having is whether or not they should be included in the starting XI?
The answer to this is simply no, because Kane is the sort of striker who looks to drop deep, hold the ball up, and bring players like Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, etc, into play so that they can run off him.
Foden and Bellingham are both technically gifted players who like to dominate with the ball at their feet.
They also like to play cute passes into a striker such as Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, or Ollie Watkins, who like to play on the last man.
Over the past 20-30 years, England managers have fallen in the trap of the public, and have tried to shoehorn some of their top players such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Paul Scholes into one team.
But this time, it seems as if Tuchel has got a real idea of what he wants going forward.
Will it ultimately pay off?
Tuchel-Bellingham Relationship In Doubt?
There have also been rumours regarding a falling out between the 22-year-old and the England boss, particularly after Tuchel mentioned his mother saying that his on-field behaviour was repulsive.
This mini spat may have influenced the media to react in a way that raises doubts in the fans’ minds regarding the outcome of their relationship.
And this seemed increasingly likely after he was left out of the squad for the September and October international break.
He didn’t appear to be entirely happy coming of in Sunday’s game either.
The England boss did say he will review Bellingham’s reaction, but it doesn’t look that good, especially when you’re close to the World Cup finals.
“I think he brings an edge which we welcome and is needed if we want to achieve big things,’”It needs to be channelled towards the opponent and towards our goal, not to intimidate team-mates or be over-aggressive towards team-mates and officials, but always towards the solution, towards winning.
Tuchel: BBC Sport
Anderson Starts Ahead Of Wharton As No. 6?
A crucial area in which Tuchel may need to work out is who plays alongside Declan Rice and Bellingham in that crucial number six role?
Even though Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton is in the form of his life, it looks as if he is facing stiff competition with Nottingham Forest’s Eliot Anderson.
Before the Albania game, Anderson was the mainstay in that position, but now that Tuchel has seen Wharton play, does it change his perspective?
“Good, good. Not easy, because we tried a little bit different in the build-up with John Stones [moving into midfield]. In the second half, we reversed a little bit and played a 4-3-3 so he was alone, sometimes a little exposed. It’s not his fault. We were a bit open and a bit sloppy. But overall he did well.”
Tuchel: Give Me Sport
The England Boss labelled Anderson as ‘one of the best midfielders in the Premier League’. This seems to suggest that the Forest man is ahead of Wharton at the moment.
It also depends on the quality of opposition. With Anderson being the more physically bullt, Tuchel may opt to go with him in the bigger games and use Wharton as an impact player off the bench.
Will he continue to go that way?
These are the main points we have learnt thus far under Thomas Tuchel’s reign as England Manager.
Can you think of any more?
If so, let us know on World In Sport
