First impressions of ‘low-key’ Tuchel & his England team

After the audible fanfare that greeted England’s new head coach at Wembley, Thomas Tuchel slipped into his technical area almost unnoticed.

He missed a giant banner extending across the stadium and welcoming him to “The Home of Football,” a deafening drum-and-bass track created in his honor by the Football Association in his name, and fireworks, pyrotechnics, and a deafening drum-and-bass track commissioned in his honor by the Football Association in his name.

Tuchel’s own entrance was a covert affair, setting the tone for Gareth Southgate’s replacement’s low-key event. After overcoming Albania in a 2-0 World Cup qualifier, the German’s excitement and intensity will have to wait another day.

In a depressing evaluation of England’s Euro 2024 campaign, Tuchel claimed that it lacked “intensity, clarity, identity, repetition of patterns, expression of players, and hunger,” which was widely accepted as criticism of Southgate and the team that lost to Spain in the final.

There was surprisingly little to distinguish Tuchel’s England from Southgate’s in this game, with Albania’s lack of ambition, reluctance to leave their own half, and his own team’s lack of fluency and rhythm.

With Aston Villa’s Marcus Rashford on loan on loan and Manchester City’s Phil Foden on the right, Tuchel chose a 4-2-3-1 formation, which did not materialize.

After the game, England’s new manager said, “We hope for more impact in these positions” and that “they were not as decisive as they can be.”

But Myles Lewis-Skelly made the brilliant decision to make his debut for Arsenal as the youngest player to score in his senior England debut at the age of 18 and 176 days.

When he headed against the bar in the first half of the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool, Dan Burn, a 32-year-old international, almost scored again, but he looked tired and vulnerable when Albania substitute Armando Broja ran at him late in the second half.

Tuchel reaffirmed his style by pleading for more intensity, more touches in the opposing box, and more ball recoveries in the opposing half. There is still work to be done, but this is still early.

In the final third, England won back possession four times as opposed to six, and enjoyed 74.2% possession against 73.6% in interim manager Lee Carsley’s last game against the Republic of Ireland in November. England also had 34 touches in Albania’s box.

This should be taken into account when comparing Albania’s strategy, which essentially consisted of creating the most difficult blocks to frustrate England.

When England pressurized Albania into errors in the opening period, he twice broke into irate applause, once when they had possession of the ball and once more when intensity made them work the ball into touch.

When England seized on the ball back, Tuchel was equally enthusiastic. He anticipated more of this intensity in the near future and was hoping for it.

Although there was little to get excited about for extended periods, he was mostly a calm, measured figure.

Tuchel took his seat after 14 minutes, stayed there for three more, had a discussion with his staff, and then came pitch-side.

He delivered a lengthy instruction to goalkeeper Jordan Pickford as he saluted the first goal of his reign and was promptly met with a pump of his fist and a big smile when Lewis-Skelly delivered the incisive pass from Jude Bellingham.

Tuchel soon became familiar with one of Wembley’s more recent traditions, the paper airplanes that fly during off-peak hours. After 33 minutes, the first one came close to him.

Tuchel chose 6′ 7″ Burn over more technically minded Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi, who was arguably England’s best performer at the Euros, as he has demonstrated he is not too proud to use his physical presence and set-piece prowess to showcase the strengths of the Premier League to England.

A line of players formed when the Three Lions won three corners in a row in the first half, a tactic known as “the bus stop” or “the love train.” But Declan Rice’s delivery had just one target: the gigantic figure of Burn.

The most obvious of the plans, but he almost succeeded as he crashed a header against the bar from the spot above Albania’s defensemen.

Given Foden’s disappointing performance in the position the Arsenal winger would normally play, Tuchel was given no serious clues as to any revolutionary moves he might have up his sleeve. However, he will yearn for a quick return to fitness for Bukayo Saka.

The “interactions” between England’s players on the field, which are effectively instances of them encouraging one another and demonstrating a sense of community, are one area that Tuchel wants to improve.

When he addressed the players at St. George’s Park on Monday, he showed them data that showed there were 60 of those encounters in the Euros final against Spain in Berlin, but only 35 after half-time when they conceded the goals that caused them to fall to 2-1 defeat.

This wasn’t the night of interactions or high-fives. More accurately phrased, “Work done.” Although Pickford did celebrate when Albania’s Jasir Asani raced past with the chance of an unthinkable equalizer, Ezri Konsa made a superb covering tackle, and at length and with great enthusiasm.

Tuchel already speaks in contrast to Southgate’s measured, almost diplomatic words, and he once more made his point once more when he said, “We can do better, we have to do better.”

When the first three points were secured, Tuchel quickly departed from Wembley’s tunnel, leaving his players to exclaim a “thank you,” even though thousands of fans had already left by the end.