Just a week into what he likes to call his 60 days of preparation for the 2026 World Cup, Thomas Tuchel is starting to learn a little of what it is like to be an international manager.
It’s not, for example, that easy to bring Premier League pace, power and tempo to a game against Albania when they refuse to leave their own half until the first goal of the game is scored. On Sunday Tuchel referenced the possibility of one day playing an old-fashioned 4-4-2 and only seemed to be half-joking.
Equally, Tuchel now knows how hard it can be to extract an international level performance from a player who has been struggling for his club. Phil Foden was just as poor for England last Friday as he has been for Manchester City recently. He will be very lucky if he is given another go against Latvia at Wembley.
More fundamentally, however, Tuchel continues to wrestle with what he feels were fundamental flaws in the way Gareth Southgate’s players operated on and off the field during his predecessor’s eight years in charge.
Those of us who followed Southgate’s journey through Russia, London, Qatar and Germany and witnessed the positive way in which players began to view time away with England will continue to watch with eyebrow raised as Tuchel endeavours to make good his intention to significantly improve mental aptitude and fortitude. We shall see.
Nevertheless, as one of his senior players Declan Rice addressed the issue of how to turn tournament final appearances into tournament triumphs yesterday, he struck a similar note.
Thomas Tuchel is looking to secure wins in his first two matches as England manager on Monday night
Tuchel continues to wrestle with what he feels were fundamental flaws in the way Gareth Southgate ’s players operated
The German was critical of the performance of Phil Foden, who has struggled for club and country this term
‘Thomas has put a great emphasis on the fact we have played in two finals and lost them both,’ said Rice. ‘So how can we grow even better as a group?
‘Obviously Harry Kane is our captain but how can 11 players on the pitch all feel comfortable with each other?
‘We are all comfortable with each other off the pitch but sometimes on the pitch it’s different. Sometimes you feel like you maybe can’t say something or that you can but only to certain people. That should change.
‘So I think Thomas has been really good on being ruthless and saying what you want to help each other out and push each other because obviously we want to win the World Cup.
‘The best teams that have won have not had one leader in the pitch, they have had four or five or six who can push a group.’
Harmony within a sporting environment can take on many forms. A recurring problem is what works for one player may not for another.
Tuchel said on Sunday, as he spoke at Tottenham’s training ground, that he was comfortable with his criticism of Foden and Marcus Rashford on Friday night, suggesting it was mild and that he was only repeating what he had said in private after the Albania game.
It is not always as simple as that, however. Some players deal phlegmatically with public criticism while others resent it. And these are players, remember, that Tuchel will not see between late on Monday evening and the next international get-together in June. Anything that is said now may linger. Again, Rice was unconcerned. ‘I think you need that as you can’t be comfortable,’ he said.
Declan Rice urged England players’ to be more forthright in their on-field communication with one another
‘This is top-level international football. Me personally, I would rather be told that by the manager than it be hidden. I’d rather that, because then it’s going to give me a kick up the a***.
‘It depends on the player. I don’t know how Phil and Marcus have… I didn’t know he’d criticised them. I hadn’t seen that.
‘Personally, it would spur me on to want to do even better. The manager isn’t going to take any nonsense. He knows he’s here to win the World Cup. And to do that, you need to push everyone, and you need to be uncomfortable.’
Last summer’s England environment was not all that it should have been. What felt like a last lap too far for Southgate translated into a tournament camp that, unusually, allowed low levels of friction and resentment to develop.
Sometimes, it was evident on the field with much of it shown in the less-than-perfect body language of players like Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid star is arguably England’s best player but did not always look like it in Germany. Asked about the importance of body language — but not specifically about Bellingham — Rice said: ‘Body language is a massive thing. In all walks of life you are constantly being watched in terms of your body language.
‘People pick up on stuff and you can tell how someone is feeling from their body language.
‘With some players it might look like their body language is poor but that’s because they care. They are so desperate to win and do well. Even for myself sometimes it might look like, with my body language on the pitch, that I’m frustrated or annoyed but that’s just because I’m demanding the most of myself.
Marcus Rashford was also criticised by the former Chelsea manager after enduring a frustrating night on the flanks against Albania
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is arguably England’s best player but he did not always look like it at the European Championship last summer
‘But I know, on the eye, that can come across like “his shoulders are down, he’s having a dig at someone else” and that can come across in a negative way. It can look bad but it’s also on the individual in terms of how they actually just want the best for the team and push others. That’s what I felt like it was at the Euros.’
Once again, it’s a rather fine line and it’s one that is unlikely to show itself against the world’s 140th best international team tonight.
Much of what Tuchel learns about his players over the next 15 months or so will be discovered away from the public eye. He has acknowledged that himself.
The new England coach continues to frame two Euro final appearances — in 2021 and 2024 — as chances missed rather than achievements in their own right. If he can persuade his players to view it that way, too, it may yet prove to be the only mental shift that actually matters.
