There were times in Wembley on Friday evening, not least after an hour had passed, that you would not have been surprised if the cameras had soothed Thomas Tuchel on the touch line and opened his raincoat to reveal that he wore a navy waistcoat under it.
For large parts of his first game, this seemed like New England to ancient England a lot. Pass, pass, pass, sniff, huff, puff. More than just a few training sessions are needed that hand in hand, high-fiving and kicking balls in a garbage can to kick old habits.
However, there were clear signs of what Tuchel wants – and nothing more than wide.
He may have in line in the same 4-2-3-1 formation as his predecessor Gareth Southgate, but his demands from his wing players were very different.
He wanted Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden to remain high and wide and immediately that England gave more shape and structure to the left-sided performance against Spain in the Euro 2024 final when right wing Bukayo Saka was often their only outlet valve.
England was more balanced, advanced and broad on Friday evening, albeit against a lesser opposition that was deep the entire game.
Within the first five minutes we saw why Tuchel wants them to stay wide. Ezri Konsa played a cut ball over the top and Jude Bellingham and Curtis Jones came to gallop through the box. The width of Rashford and Foden helped to stretch the back lines of Albania with the full-backs not sure whether they wanted to stay wide with their husbands or put it in, leaving room and uncertainty for Bellingham to exploit.
If Harry Kane continues to fall deeply as he did under Southgate – and that was the case against Albania – those midfield runners will be crucial for Tuchel.
The width of Rashford on Friday evening also suggested him, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jude Bellingham to form triangles and try to trying to confuse and draw the deep defense of Albania.
The opening goal of Lewis-Skelly also came from a moment when Rashford Infield had drifted, the Arsenal-Jongere had overlapping on the wing and Bellingham unpacked him with a beautiful pass.
In the end, Tuchel did not see enough of Rashford and Foden when they had the ball. For a manager who spent the entire week about aggressive, hungry football, he did not understand. “We hope for more impact in these positions,” Tuchel said. “They were not as decisive as they can be.”
The figures carry that out. Until they were immersed with 15 minutes to go, Rashford and Foden touched the ball 107 times between them, but only tried to beat their opponent six times. Foden did it only once, did not succeed in beating his husband and even that was from a central position.
Are we about to see the rebirth of the old-fashioned, chalk-on-your boots wing under Tuchel?
For so long we have become used to seeing top prime minister League managers with the help of 'reverse' Wingers-a left-wing man who plays on the right or vice versa.
Mohammed Salah is deadly in it, grabs the ball upright before cutting inside and shoots with his left. Bukayo Saka does the same for Arsenal. Even Anthony Gordon, who bombards the wing for Newcastle, is a right -handed foot that plays on the left.
However, if you are a manager who wants his side to play faster, such as Tuchel, traditional Wingers can play more to your advantage.
The right -wing Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga were released this season the right flank of Nieuwcastle and Nottingham Forest, while recently even Pep Guardiola Savinho switched to his stronger foot side.
Reverse Wingers cut in, as Foden often did on Friday evening, can slow down, stop moving quickly on the field and allowing deep defenses such as to allow Albania to reset their shape.
So, if Tuchel wants his wing players to get chalk on his boots and, as he keeps telling us, only six training camps to the World Cup that he has to figure out who the flying wide men he needs.
Foden cannot continue as Tuchel wants Wingers Bom to take their full-backs. That is simply not his game and as soon as Saka returns, he will have one of the best wings of the Premier League at his disposal, even if he is left.
If Tuchel Wingers wants to defeat their husbands, Morgan Rogers and Ebereechi Eze have completed the most dribbles of an English wing player this season, although Rogers is hardly the kind of touchline-huggend Raketman, the new man is looking. West -ham -captain Jarrod Bowen has more often fed the ball on occasions that have led to a shot or a chance.
Despite missing a huge part of the season, Saka still combined for more goals and assists than any other dominant English winger. Newcastle's Murphy is only two behind him.
He also has some left-field options. Only Morgan Rogers has tried more dribbles in the Premier League this season than Omari Hutchinson of Ipswich. The former Chelsea man plays more central this period, but is at his best when he accepts his husband on the flank. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Noni Madueke have made things happen more than most of them when they have had the ball at their feet.
Tuchel has a range of options at his disposal. Now it's about finding the right one.
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