Four games in 325 days – do we know anything about Tuchel’s England yet?

A total of 325 days have passed since Thomas Tuchel was named England’s new manager.

And, yet, here we are still trying to work out exactly what to expect from his Three Lions team.

The German officially took over on 1 January – two and a half months after his unveiling – but England have only played four games since, with Wayne Rooney describing the fixtures as “nonsense” in any case.

Earlier this year, BBC Sport looked at the various formations, playing styles and tactics Tuchel might adopt, ranging from the fast and furious to the more cautious and pragmatic.

One thing that has been unique to Tuchel is the relatively small number of games he’s taken charge of in the opening months of his tenure compared to other recent England managers.

Even Sam Allardyce, not included in the graphic above, had a higher games-to-days ratio during his brief reign in 2016 – and he was sacked after one match and 67 days.

“Tuchel may have only had four games, but much of this was his own doing as he delayed taking over until 1 January, missing the chance to take charge of Nations League games away to Greece and at home to Republic of Ireland,” said chief football writer Phil McNulty.

“In the same period of time, his predecessors had more matches to make their plans.

“Roy Hodgson had 14 games, while Fabio Capello had nine and Gareth Southgate, Steve McClaren and Sven-Goran Eriksson all had eight.

Unsurprisingly, fewer games has meant fewer new faces.

Dan Burn, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Trevoh Chalobah are the only three players to earn their first caps since Tuchel took over – all defenders.

But Djed Spence, Elliot Anderson and Jarell Quansah could also make their debuts after being named in the current squad to face Andorra and Serbia.

Anderson and Quansah both played a key role in England’s success at the European Under-21 Championship in June.

Including his four-match stint as interim boss, Southgate gave debuts to six players during his first year in charge – albeit across far more matches than Tuchel.

“Squad choices have varied between the safe selection of an old guard, such as the continued presence of 35-year-old Jordan Henderson, and the bizarre, as when Ivan Toney was summoned from the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ahli then only given two minutes as a substitute against Senegal before being dropped altogether,” added McNulty.

“He has deliberately cut his squad from 26 last time 24 for this double header, and he spoke with a greater sense of urgency, talking up competition and adopting a ruthless approach, exemplified by Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Burnley veteran Kyle Walker being dropped.”

The squad selection has, however, given us a few clues about his approach.

“Tuchel has referenced the need for the England national team to mirror the dominance and style of the Premier League and his team selections, influenced partly by injuries, has mirrored this statement,” said football tactics correspondent Umir Irfan.

What about Tuchel’s tactics?

“It is clear that the plan is to attempt to be a more physically imposing, ball-dominant and exciting team,” added Irfan.

“To start, England have played in a 4-4-1-1 shape. Then, in build-up, they have moved between two common shapes, a 2-3-5 and a 3-2-5 with the full-backs key to this.

“In the 3-2-5, one full-back will accompany two centre-backs. The three at the back in possession is used as a solution to build up around certain opposition shapes, with the additional player providing an extra passing option.

“When the shape becomes a 2-3-5, both full-backs are often used either side of a defensive midfielder, usually Declan Rice.

“This does two things. Firstly, it frees the second central midfielder to push up. This has been Morgan Rogers and Curtis Jones on occasion. Secondly, it also ensures that central areas behind the ball are occupied by good defenders, providing structural and individual defensive quality.

“England’s attacking midfielder and striker still drop deep to show for the ball like they did under Southgate. This opens up space down the middle for players to run into after an opposition central defender has been dragged out of position. Runs from deep areas including from full-backs like Lewis-Skelly have exploited these spaces well.

“Tuchel’s attack is positional in nature, with players occupying specific zones on the pitch, but he encourages rotations between these zones, as long as somebody is in each zone.

The jury is still out.

When you compare England’s three World Cup qualifiers under Tuchel with their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign under Southgate – the best like-for-like comparison in terms of standard of opposition – the numbers are broadly similar.

However, there are some signs of encouragement too. Stats measuring possession, passing sequences and touches inside the opposition’s box are all up.

The average number of goals per game has dropped but England outperformed their expected goals stat in 2022, while they’re currently not scoring as many goals as they should be. Continue as they are and they should flow.

But what about the eye test?

“The game against Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday is as near to a formality as it gets in international football, but the subsequent game against Serbia in the hostile surroundings of Belgrade will be more of an acid test,” said McNulty.