TA talks about England under Tuchel: No mercy in discarding stars, how to arrange Bellingham is a challenge

In October last year, the FA officially announced that Tuchel became the new head coach in England and became the first German head coach in team history. Recently, The Athletic posted a review of the six key issues Tuchel faced in England at that time.

1.How to win the World Cup within 18 months of taking over the team?

Tuchel's challenge lies in time. He did not officially take office as England coach until January 1 this year. He signed an 18-month contract that lasted only until next summer's World Cup, which means that there were only six national team training sessions before the World Cup, and up to 60 days of contact with players. After deducting travel and game time, Tuchel and his team have only about 24 days instilling their football philosophy into players on the training ground. Time is very tight, and Tuchel made it clear from the outset that his goal is to get England to lift the World Cup in New Jersey on July 19.

At present, Tuchel has entered the fourth of six training camps. He has played six games in England and will play another six games before flying to the United States. Although I feel like he has just taken office, there is not much time left and the World Cup will be coming soon. When Tuchel first took office, he promised to conduct a "crash course" to teach the style of football he wanted. But in reality, he had to slow down and some players began to feel overinformed, especially those from teams with completely different styles of playing. So after the first two training sessions, Tuchel changed his strategy to protect the players by reducing the amount of information. Tuchel understands that in such a short time, he needs to find a way that suits everyone.

2.How to change the team's playing style?

When Tuchel took office, he boldly stated that he would completely change the team's game style, hoping to show a more intense, faster and more aggressive style of physical confrontation, and close to the game style that Premier League players are accustomed to. What former coach Southgate tried was a steady, methodical and predictable way of playing to stay competitive in major matches, although rarely really ignite the audience’s passion. And Tuchel's performance in the first few games showed that it was not easy to practice the style he wanted in the national team game. The first two games - home victory against Albania and Latvia, although smooth, did not show much difference from the Southgate era.

England defeated Andorra 1-0 in June, and then lost 1-3 to Senegal, which made people feel that England seemed to be regressing. In September, Tuchel restarted his tactical attempts to provide players with simpler and clearer guidance, and emphasized the key links, namely, deep organization in the ball, mid-blocking when defending, and pressure on the opponent's half. However, last month's away game of 5-0 victory over Serbia seems to indicate that Tuchel's philosophy has finally begun to be accepted by the players. This is also the first time in his six games he coached that England has shown an active and unified team look, starting to have a distinctive style, but facing deep defense and hot weather games next summer will be another matter.

3.How to improve the morale of the team?

Tuchel had criticized England's performance in the 2024 European Cup, not limited to their chaotic performance on the court, and also pointed out that the atmosphere in the team's training camp last summer was not good, and under "tension and pressure" in the game, saying they were more afraid of failure than eager for victory. During Tuchel's brief tenure, he will try to change that. In the English lineup of last year's European Cup, Sterling, Rashford, Henderson, Maguire, Glalish and others were all out of the list, and more were young players who had not experienced major competitions.

In March this year, Kane made it clear when reviewing the European Cup that England at last year lacked some leadership, especially the importance of players like Henderson in difficult times. So it may not be surprising that Tuchel recalled Henderson, a natural leader who has full respect in the team and everyone will follow when he makes a request to his teammates. After expressing dissatisfaction with the June team's training performance, the training situation in September improved greatly.

4. Does the team build a team around big-name stars?

The old question in international football is, should the team build a team around big-name stars? England is more struggling than most countries in this regard, and English fans who have experienced the Double Germany era have a deeper understanding of this. In the early days of Southgate's coaching, the team seemed to have escaped this dilemma and found a more balanced roster without stars. However, in the fourth major competition coached by Southgate, that is, the 2024 European Cup, he returned to the old path. Southgate tried to include Foden and Bellingham in the lineup at the same time, and even let Arnold switch to the midfield, indicating that he no longer worked hard to build a balanced team.

Tuchel is working hard to adjust the direction of England. Of course, he also hopes that England's best and most famous players can participate, but he must act on his terms and he is not ruthless in abandoning players. Arnold was once England's long-term right-back candidate, but he only appeared as a substitute once under Tuchel, and still against Andorra. Tuchel even publicly stated that Arnold "must take the defense very, very seriously." The player was not included in the September training roster and is now absent due to a hamstring injury. Foden has performed poorly in his first two games since Tuchel's take office and has never played for England since, although his form has recovered at Manchester City. As one of the best English players in the Premier League in recent years, Palmer has only played once under Tuchel and has missed training camps many times due to injuries.

5.How to use Bellingham well?

Although Bellingham is only 22 years old, he has represented England in three major competitions, but both Southgate and Tuchel are facing how to integrate Bellingham into the team's already well-functioning system. This is not an easy task.. Bellingham is good at dominating critical moments and sudden outbreaks, rather than controlling the rhythm of the game. He is not as disciplined as some teammates. If he wants to play well in England, he may need to be the front midfielder, which means he is not a replacement for Morgan Rogers.

Bellingham has an emotional maturity beyond age, but in addition to having a particularly close friendship with Arnold and Henderson, he seems a little alienated from other England teammates and is well known to be unwilling to participate in media activities, and when he is not in the roster, how to integrate strength, play to his strengths, overcome his weaknesses will always be one of the biggest challenges facing Tuchel.

6.How to adhere to principles?

The 5-0 away victory over Serbia last month not only proved to the players, but also to the outside world that Tuchel is on the right path. The victory allowed him to make the bravest and most important decision to date in his tenure: keep the September squad for the international match in October as much as possible, with the only change being that Saka replaced the injured Maduaik, Bellingham and Foden did not return directly to the roster. At this moment, Tuchel stresses his standards and expectations, which will be the most important factor in determining who is drafted and who is on the field. England's big-name stars still have enough time to play in November or next March or even next summer's World Cup, but if they want to get a chance, they will have to meet Tuchel's requirements, not just because of their fame.