Thomas Tuchel explains tactical dilemmas that will define his England tenure

If Friday night’s 2-0 win over Albania felt like Gareth Southgate revisited rather than Thomas Tuchel’s new era, Declan Rice simply puts it down to time.

There was a mere three days the squad had together before the match and only a few occasions Albania were willing to come out of their area, let alone their half.

But Rice insists the time together so far has been sufficient to get a sense of a brand new England football team to come, even if they’re not the finished product just yet.

“Over the next two years leading up to the World Cup, you are going to see a team that’s completely different to how it’s been in the past in terms of how Thomas wants to work,” explained the Arsenal midfielder.

Tuchel has been very open about what he idealises, which is an attacking side that bombards the opposition with Premier League-style intensity. More interesting for now, however, is the detail around how he intends to achieve that.

Tuchel’s preference is for a 4-2-3-1, and that is expected to be Monday’s formation for the match against Latvia. Marc Guehi and Morgan Rogers will likely come in for Dan Burn and Phil Foden, respectively.

Tuchel insists he isn’t wedded to that, however, and is willing to look at other options. The England manager was asked about the classic England problem of lacking a midfield controller, but he doesn’t seem as concerned about that as Southgate did. He even said his midfield pairing of Declan Rice and Curtis Jones on Friday “could do that”. One of the reasons for the approach, however, was just a certain pragmatism in his first game.

Thomas Tuchel is content that Curtis Jones and Declan Rice can be midfield controllers if needed (Action Images via Reuters)

“With Bukayo out and the opponent who had a key player on the right, we just made the choice to play with Curtis Jones because there was a lot of work, invisible work to do for Curtis for second balls and to play as a double six against the ball,” Tuchel explained of his tactics against Albania.

“We didn’t want to be naive and go all in for with five offensive players and then always have the trouble that we would only have one six and constantly have two strong number eights left and right of Declan. In the first match, that was the reason.”

Tuchel even revealed he has been considering a much bolder formation, adding: “I still have the idea if it is possible to play in a 4-1-4-1 with five very offensive players and more or less Dec as a holding midfielder.

“But the game is so fluid, would this give us enough control in the midfield? Or would it be a more open game? Sometimes I think about if it would be the right thing to play in a very traditional 4-4-2 as an English national team. This is how I think about English football. A lot of crosses. Crosses from half-field. Two strikers on the pitch. So let's find out.”

This is the advantage of qualifying being so forgiving. With England now at such a level, and this World Cup expanded to 48 teams, it’s not like there are going to be the nervous nights of the 1990s. Tuchel even said that much of this is not about preparing for individual games like Latvia, but preparing for a World Cup, which has a very different feel.

The German’s general principle is to have two number 10s, no matter where they are on the pitch. At Chelsea, he often saw the wing-backs as fulfilling that role. He might consequently love Trent Alexander-Arnold. The “problem” for England – as Lee Carsley said he was told at Uefa coaching seminars – is that Tuchel has a series of actual number 10s: Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Morgan Rogers and even Harry Kane.

Thomas Tuchel is happy to use the World Cup qualifiers as a time to experiment (PA Wire)

If he is to go with two of those – and not his strikingly adventurous 4-1-4-1 – it does condition his likely line-ups. A 4-2-3-1 would probably see Bukayo Saka offering the necessary width on the right, with Palmer and Bellingham inside, increasing the importance of Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back. The Arsenal teenager may even become integral for Tuchel, with his driving runs up the left balancing the team.

There’s also still the issue of how his 10s play together, and Tuchel was naturally asked about how Albania appeared to be another game seemingly showing a disconnect between Bellingham and Foden. The problem for the Manchester City forward is that Bellingham is obviously the focal point. Tuchel, for his part, was sitting back relaxed as he answered this. Others would have been conscious of saying the wrong thing.

“Jude played as a 10 and I think Phil would maybe prefer to play as a 10 and maybe it would suit him even more,” Tuchel admitted. “We also have Morgan Rogers who’s very impressive, who’s also like a half 10. We also have Cole Palmer who’s not here, who’s a half 10. In the end, the players have to take what they get.

“I think that Phil can play on the wing and he can also play as a nine in the middle of the pitch. In general, he’s just missing what these creative players sometimes are missing. Confidence and the flow. He’s trying hard, you see the investment in defensive actions. It’s just not really happening that you could say like ‘wow’. You see it in the clubs, it’s not only here.”

Tuchel believes Phil Foden’s current problem is a lack of confidence and flow (PA Wire)

Rice admitted that part of the issue there is just basic understanding between players, especially under a new manager. He said what “I do at Arsenal will be completely different to what Morgan Gibbs-White may do at [Nottingham] Forest in terms of tactics.”

Tuchel has also considered a 4-2-3-1 with all number 10s.

“But then the likes of real wingers, like Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka – key players – would suffer because the position would not be there,” explained the German coach. “Do we accept that we have less control and we have two wide wingers? Then some No 10s simply cannot play.”

He also pondered an inverted central five but said: “If we then sacrifice an offensive player, if we sacrifice two offensive players, and play in a 3-2 [a 4-3-2-1], to have full control, but maybe less firepower up front, it's still open questions.

“We're still on the journey, we haven't reached America yet, we need to qualify first. And then it will be also down to who is available, and who is a good mix together.

“We have to get the process right to find the best group. If that means we leave very good and talented players out of the squad, this can happen. In the next 16 months it is important we find the right team and not the most talented 26 players. We need to get the team right. We need to get the team spirit right because it’s one thing to play qualifiers, it’s another thing to play tournament football.”

That is what Monday, and all this time, is really about.

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