Two of two for Thomas Tuchel, but no surprises there. England will be comfortable for the World Cup final, and they have to win eight -eight games in qualifying.
What is much more important is what the head coach of New England has learned about his team and his approach in the past week – and what we have learned about him.
The mission of Tuchel, remember, is not just to be eligible for the World Cup. It's to win the thing.
Tuchel is very different from its predecessor, both in style and in substance. Gareth Southgate's approach was much more sensitive, more partnership; He concentrated on the atmosphere in the camp, worried about the well -being of his players, promoted and cherished a new harmony found in the team, who quietly persuaded the players to be the best they can be.
In the end, brilliant that too, it wasn't enough not enough to see the name of England engraved on a large trophy.
Tuchel recognizes and praises the virtues of what Southgate has created. He has repeatedly talked about the media and his players about “The Brotherhood” – the band within the team that Southgate has created, so that they are fighting for each other, and trying to overcome adhesion at a key -really time. But he also told the players to change, and now “to dig each other out”, as his captain Harry Kane said.
Evaluate and criticize the performance of your teammates. Drive each other to be better, so that you can take the ultimate final step together.
And the management style of Tuchel reflects what he wants his players – bone, honest, more combative, more black and white. That is refreshing from a media perspective, but it is a bit risk -oriented from the point of view of his continuous relationship with the players.
After I had been in and around Tuchel's first international camp for seven days, it was clear to me that one or two players felt dissatisfied.
Tuchel does not avoid the difficult calls, but there is dollar damage as a result.
Levi Colwill, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jarell Quansah, Dominic Solanke, Dean Henderson, Aaron Ramsdale and James Trafford all go back to their clubs who have not played football for a minute about the two qualifications. Jordan Henderson flew back from Amsterdam and got less than 20 minutes of playing time.
Injuries and poor form During the coming 15 months, significantly forced changes in Tuchel's first choice can mean options – at this early stage of his reign, he needs everyone on board.
Unlike Southgate, who came very close to all his players, Tuchel does not have to make friends in the team. He will not be working long enough to need long -term relationships. But he must clearly that everyone in his methodology should buy.
The players with whom we spoke in the past week are insisting that this is the case that they are impressed by the new manager. They love his passion, his brilliant communication, his directness and how tactile he is with them in training.
Marc Guehi even told me that Tuchel sometimes looks more like a teammate than a manager.
It is absolutely refreshing to see that the new boss will not shun the big phone calls.
He replaced the unstoppable and enigmatic Jude Bellingham against Latvia to save him from a red card, he ignored the cats to call Jordan Henderson and brought him back in the fold because he appreciated his leadership, he ignored criticism of Marcus Rashford, and not only selected him for the first time for the first time for the first time; He presented a debut in Myles Lewis-Skelly, who can be the left back of England in the coming years.
He also reprimanded the young person mildly for a lack of width in his attacking game against Latvia; He criticized the English regime in the last euros and said that the players were more afraid of failing than they were enthusiastic to succeed.
Tuchel has said that he simply cannot and is not trying, all the brilliant 'no 10s' England has in a single team in the future – he will not shun for bruises to achieve the ultimate goal.
That is something that fans and experts have since the debate with the 'Golden Generation' with the debate with the 'Golden Generation' of how Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes fit into the same team.
But the statement of Tuchel will mainly be worried about Phil Foden, who does not seem to be trust at the moment. The Manchester City Forward is a player of such congenital capacity that he could be a big asset to the World Cup, but at the moment he seems to pay the most of all 10 options in England.
Although there will be many fans of England who will welcome the explained ambition of Tuchel to let the national team play more as a Premier League team – with a high press, high energy, physicalness, a fast pace and attacking intention – you suspect that those comments have brought a wry on the face of Southgate.
He wanted that too, but learned that international football is a different and strange beast than club football, and that, very often, by the time England gets a summer tournament, the team is exhausted and exhausted at the end of a long, difficult domestic season.
You only have to look at the latest euros as the clearest proof of it, with Kane and Bellingham shadows of their fully fitting, fully-energy self.
Oh, and the temperatures in Central America next summer, where England will probably play their knockout games, are probably 25-30 Celsius, with high humidity. Good luck getting the players of England to play with high intensity and a high press in those circumstances.
The pace and the forward momentum was certainly much better in the second match of Tuchel, against Latvia, compared to his first, against Albania.
The number of shots, dribbles, crosses and gets into the opponent's box all doubles in the room of four days. That would indicate that the players adapt to his style and try to put his ideas into practice.
This is a brave new era for England, and things feel very different among the new boss. There is a new dynamic, a new energy found, many exciting, new ideas, a new candidate in evaluating versions and row standards.
His endgame is clear: forging a brotherhood with a clear identity to win that elusive second star. And if the attempt to create a “club” atmosphere, has echoes from Southgate, his decision to call his team late on MatchDay to prevent leaks and let his players guess, make comparisons with the more authoritative Fabio Capello.
But Tuchel is clearly his own husband. He will be this England team in his own way. Some nagging questions will inevitably continue to exist: about maintaining the goodwill of the players when the pressure is mounted, about whether the players can actually deliver the vision of high energy football that he demands.
And / or – despite the meticulous planning and finely tuned play patterns – such as his predecessors, the ultimate success of England could be based on the fickle grilling of football fun.
Comments