On the eve of Thomas Tuchel’s first England game, he insisted we “can be sure” if he says something in the press he has already told his players, so the wonder is how blunt he was in the dressing room after this 2-0 win over Albania. The new manager didn’t seem all that impressed with any of it, except Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Tuchel went into surprisingly specific detail about why he didn’t think the performance was especially good, and why the attack didn’t work. This is the other side of a manager who has been praised over the last week for his openness and humour. It is complemented by a striking bluntness.
Tuchel’s publicly stated grievances were the following: Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden had little impact, the team were far too slow to get the ball up to them, England generally struggled to take the initiative, they couldn’t really get beyond Albania’s defence, and then seemed to lose confidence in the structure altogether in what he described as a disappointing second half.
Worse, he said much of this – and particularly the point about Rashford and Foden – in three different interviews.
Good to get the points on the board, then, Thomas?
For the manager’s part, bluntness shouldn’t be confused with being downbeat. He was just saying what he saw, and it doesn’t mean this squad can’t eventually realise his vision. The new manager has only had three days to properly work with them, after all, and you’re not really going to realise Total Football in that time. Tuchel similarly praised Albania’s “unorthodox” approach and pointed to how all of Italy, Croatia and eventual winners Spain struggled to get past them at Euro 2024.
They are no pushovers, and certainly a remove from the side that Gareth Southgate’s England previously beat 5-0.
This never got close to that because England couldn’t get close enough to goal. Tuchel even pointed to how the game-breaking moment, Lewis-Skelly’s uplifting goal, came from a deep Jude Bellingham pass beating 10 players and the young full-back’s initiative.
Tuchel wasn’t outright criticising individuals, mind, but more talking about what the team can do to help. He seemed most frustrated that the squad hadn’t absorbed his main instructions.
“A bit too much passing, not enough driving the ball, not enough dribbling, not aggressive enough.”
Hence a flatter display, in which England didn’t bombard the opposition in the manner he was aiming for. It was more like one of Southgate’s more mundane games than the Premier League intensity Tuchel has spent a week talking about.
The manager was instead left lamenting that his side didn’t show enough creativity in their passes behind the backline. Perhaps proving his point, the crucial second goal – the game had still been in the balance before then – came from Declan Rice’s lofted pass. Tuchel’s effusiveness about the manner of Lewis-Skelly’s goal, as much as his general performance, was also conspicuous.
“He is full of courage, full of quality,” the German said. “This little run behind the line to open this game for us.” In other words, Lewis-Skelly was one of the few offering this kind of vitality.
"He was amazing in camp, full of confidence, full of humour, such an open and mature character. You see it on the pitch, he was immediately one of the group.”
For all that Tuchel will now work on the details, and there will inevitably be better implementation with time and more days, there could be some personnel issues. The England manager is clearly thinking about Lewis-Skelly in midfield, given how he used him in the second half and then spoke about him there.
“I think his best position is where he plays for Arsenal, in the double six. How he opens his body, and where he plays the passes, a very high understanding of the game.”
That could well be feeding one of his senior club teammates, as there looks no chance that Bukayo Saka won’t be Tuchel’s regular right-winger. Foden was in that position for this match but it just doesn’t fit him in the same way. The Manchester City forward always looks more like a cog for England, rather than the proper playmaker he is for his club.
There might be another Arsenal option on the other side, given how everyone is talking about Ethan Nwaneri. Some around St George’s Park and the Emirates Stadium fully expect him to be in the England team by the summer.
For now, Tuchel can only work with what he’s got, and it is still one of the best squads in world football. He was literally the first to say this wasn’t one of their best nights.
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