The last three weeks were about more than four Nations League games. Especially for Thomas Tuchel, this was a voyage of discovery.
The England coach started the international break in a bullish mood. Doubling down on criticism of the English DNA was a bold strategy, but Tuchel was not for turning. He intended to attack this nation’s biggest flaw head-on, his way.
Four games later and Tuchel has stayed true to his word. England will not attempt, as Tuchel insisted to a handful of journalists in a Wembley corporate box ahead of this Nations League mini-marathon, to be Spain. Control is not something, unlike the ability to mentally crumble at the final hurdle, that is entrenched in the English psyche.
In England, famous Anglophile Tuchel insisted, we like to embrace the chaos. Winning a match by grinding down opponents with attritional, possession-based football is not how we want to do things, he says.
The naysayers insist that replicating what Spain try to do to win key matches, with a squad arguably much less talented than Tuchel has at his disposal, is exactly what we need.
As the goals have flowed in the last few weeks, however, it is clear Tuchel is a man of his word. And to have a coach ready to stick to his beliefs, a footballing philosophy that has got him this far, is why England should keep faith less than two years before a home European Championships.
The goals flowed for England this international break (Photo: Getty)For all Gareth Southgate’s achievements, there was no clear pathway to success, no underlying coaching principles that underpinned everything he did.
The most successful coaches in world football achieve unrivalled glory in their own unique ways. Luis de la Fuente’s Spain have mastered control. Jurgen Klopp will bring his heavy metal football to the Germany setup. Tuchel’s teams will continue to go for it, or the England coach will die on his hill.
The approach is yet to be perfected. England have never had any bother disposing of teams like Czech Republic and Croatia in qualification. The Spain defeat at Wembley showed that extra psychological edge, to kill off elite teams when they have them where they want them, remains elusive.
Acceptance that this is where the hardest work remains is at least at the forefront of Tuchel’s mind. The risk in playing an injured Alex Scott in midfield against Croatia was in part down to his acceptance that an England engine-room without Declan Rice gets through the transition quicker.
Scott is seen as a perfect foil for Elliot Anderson, and another key to unlocking further greatness in Jude Bellingham.
Brave calls are Tuchel’s calling card. But there is always an ulterior motive. He is trying to create something with England, and that should be applauded.
Tuchel’s disappointment in Cole Palmer is not down to the fact he has missed four matches. Tuchel places so much importance on the togetherness, or “brotherhood” as he calls it, in the camp, that he relished three weeks with the players to instil that missing mental edge.
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Everyone at St George’s Park, from Tuchel’s assistants to chief football officer Dan Ashworth, is on board. Revolution is in the air in Burton upon Trent, as the England training base gets a much-needed revamp.
But it is not only the physical that will get a makeover in the next 18 months. Judging by the fact they were singing his name late into Tuesday night at Wembley, a large number of supporters are too.
England and Tuchel know exactly what they need to do to achieve football immortalisation in the summer of 2028. It is time we trusted him to get on with the job at hand.
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