Jude Bellingham is England’s talisman and Thomas Tuchel knows it
Thomas Tuchel’s England reign got off to a positive start with a straight-forward 2-0 win over Albania at Wembley, secured thanks to goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane.
After a long build-up to his first match we got to see how the German wants his team to play, and which individuals helped or hindered their cause. This is what we learnt.
Build it around Bellingham
There were two moments, in particular, which confirmed what we already knew: Jude Bellingham is England’s most important player. Harry Kane will lead the line and score the goals but it is Bellingham who holds the key to success.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed that he sees the 21-year-old – remarkably already with 41 caps - as a “number eight or a number 10” and he flitted between those two roles to great effect.
It is Bellingham’s drive and positivity that is so vital. It is pretty simple. What is so special about him is his desire for goals. Either to score or create.
That was evident in the assist for Myles Lewis-Skelly’s goal with Bellingham, again, demonstrating his sharpness to twist and turn and create the space on the half-turn before sliding an incisive pass through to the left-back who finished with such assuredness.
Myles Lewis-Skelly on his debut! 🤩
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 21, 2025
The first @England goal of the Thomas Tuchel era#ITVFootball | #ThreeLionspic.twitter.com/y9BvWydGt8
Equally in the second-half Bellingham released Marcus Rashford but what was so striking on this occasion was that the midfielder then immediately sprinted to support the winger – he did not stand and admire his work – eating up the ground. And so when Rashford was tackled, Bellingham was there to close down the defender and win the ball back inside the penalty area to set up a chance for Kane who headed wide.
There was a burst into the box from Bellingham, with his shot well saved, and then also he showed his determination and bravery to reach a cross with a diving header that was also only denied by another fine stop with Kane’s follow-up deflected over.
Left-back problem solved
Ah, the beauty and simplicity of having a left-footer at left-back.
It was Myles Lewis-Skelly’s debut. He is just 18. He has only been playing this position for half a year – making his debut there six months ago on Saturday for Arsenal - but he is a natural.
England have tried all sorts of options in this position – with right-footers such as Kieran Trippier, during last summer’s European Championship, and Rico Lewis, for the Nations League campaign, with Luke Shaw no longer fit enough long enough to be reliable.
So it looks like a straight shoot-out between Lewis-Skelly and Lewis Hall, when fit, to be the long-term solution to what was a perennial problem under Gareth Southgate.
Fair play to Tuchel, also. Much has been made of the recall of thirtysomethings such as Kyle Walker – who did well – and Jordan Henderson – who came on as a late substitute in an insight into how Tuchel plans to use him – but he was also brave enough to put the teenager straight into his team.
Lewis-Skelly showed his adaptability and football intelligence. In the first-half he certainly played as a more orthodox left-back – with another left-footer Dan Burn at left centre-back – but later he was asked to move more inside and play as another eight, especially with Jude Bellingham pushing further forward.
It felt like an insight into where Tuchel may see his role evolving, particularly against teams such as Albania who are hard to break down. Given Lewis-Skelly’s age it was impressive and he certainly earned the standing ovation from the fans and Tuchel’s hug as he was substituted.
Tuchel keeps them on their toes
The Football Association were not shy in bigging up England’s new head coach. There was even a drum and base track commissioned in his honour and played before kick-off – not sure that one worked - with a banner which read “welcome to the home of football, Thomas”. It is hard to see them having done that if it had been Eddie Howe.
It reinforced their belief that the German is a world-class manager who can deliver – and therefore must deliver - the World Cup next summer and it was interesting that he chose to keep his players on their toes with his team selection.
The XI that started were only informed relatively late on Friday, hours before kick-off with a meeting in the morning when Tuchel revealed the names on a whiteboard. No-one was told before then.
There were few indications during the week as to which way he would go beyond the impression that he would be favouring a back-four, rather than a three, and a likely 4-3-3 line-up, as he worked on team shape with his squad.
Delaying naming his line-up was undoubted deliberate from Tuchel who sprang something of a surprise by dropping Marc Guehi who was probably England’s best player at last year’s Euros. He wanted to create some edginess.
There is a long way to go for Foden and Rashford
There is no sugar-coating it. This was not a good night for Phil Foden and, after a bright start, Rashford faded. Tuchel showed his faith in both players by putting them into his starting line-up with the out-of-form Foden, in particular, fortunate to be selected.
Tuchel’s reasoning for including Rashford was that he wanted to encourage the 27-year-old who is re-building his career on loan at Aston Villa. Similarly he was keen to give Foden, still a shadow of the player who swept all the individual awards last season, a boost.
It will not be lost on Tuchel that England were more dynamic on the wings once Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon came with both willing to press aggressively, which is what the manager was demanding. It was a shame that Gordon ended the game injured and is now unlikely to be involved against Latvia on Monday.
The truth is that neither Rashford nor Foden attempted the fundamental of wing play: trying to go past your man. Neither dribbled enough nor tried to get in behind the Albanian defence with positive runs. Neither showed enough aggression. “Both of our wingers who started were not as impactful as they can be,” Tuchel said which amounted to a warning that they both must step up their games. After this neither can expect to start versus Latvia.
It is also a longer-term problem for both Foden and Rashford, especially when Bukayo Saka is fit as he will come straight back into the side. They did not take their chance.
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