What we learned from Thomas Tuchel's first two games as England boss
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what we learned from Tuchel's first camp.
England lead by two goals to nil! ⚽️⚽️
Declan Rice puts it on a plate for Harry Kane 🍽️#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/tGHt3ziUkw
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025
Tuchel was clear that he wanted his side to play an attacking and exciting style of play that mirrors the Premier League.
There were some issues against Albania, who deployed a low block, before England's quality told, but against the weaker opposition of Latvia it became clearer how Tuchel wants to play.
They pinned the minnows in their own half and regularly got in behind them, launching almost 60 attacks in the game. They bombarded the box with crosses, while set-pieces were also dangerous.
It is very much a work in progress but the signs of how Tuchel wants to play are clear.
Tuchel has spent much of the past week talking about how he wants his squad to be a brotherhood and foster a spirit which helps connect the team with the nation. That was very much evident as spirits were high in training and everyone looked together on the pitch.
The German also called for more 'interactions' during the match and that was noticeable as players all celebrated goals together as well as performative high fives and applause.
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A post shared by Myles Lewis-Skelly (@myleslewisskelly)
When England's international season started with a Nations League game against the Republic of Ireland, Myles Lewis-Skelly had not even made his Premier League debut.
Fast forward six months and he has now arguably made himself England's first-choice left-back.
Undoubtedly, Newcastle's Lewis Hall will have something to say about that, but the Arsenal defender has taken his opportunity with both hands, starting both games and enjoying positive experiences.
There's the skipper at the back post to double our lead 🙌
It's 2-0 to the #ThreeLions with around 20 to play. https://t.co/AeFHqgeHln pic.twitter.com/3SOsM3fbN1
— England (@England) March 24, 2025
After a European Championships where people were questioning him and being dropped by Lee Carsley for a crunch Nations League game in Greece, Harry Kane has re-asserted himself as England's main man in attack.
He scored in Friday's win over Albania, while also showing his creative passing range, and then took his tally to 71 with another goal against Latvia.
While the 31-year-old will not be judged by goals in Wembley games against lower-tier opposition, he proved he will still be the man to lead England's charge at next summer's World Cup.
Part of Tuchel's masterplan is to utilise the wingers to break the lines and get balls into the box and that was evident in the two games.
But, while there were flashes, none of the players that were given substantial game time claimed the shirt as theirs going forward.
Marcus Rashford started both games but lacked an end product, Phil Foden was dropped after one game and Jarrod Bowen did not overwhelm either.
Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer's impending return should help matters, with plenty of options for Tuchel to ponder.
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New York Times
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Arsenal's… — Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) August 11, 2025 As for Tottenham, Europa League success has been followed by the departures of coach Ange Postecoglou and captain Son Heung-min, and the arrivals of new coach Thomas Frank, winger Mohammed Kudus, and midfielder Joao Palhinha. The misfortune with injuries that hit the club for most of last season has continued into this summer. James Maddison may well be out for the entire season with a knee injury, while Dejan Kulusevski is still recuperating from knee surgery and Dominic Solanke missed plenty of pre-season. Playing in the expanded Champions League will pose its challenges, too. Tottenham hit their absolute floor in the league last season, but pre-season and Frank's press conferences have hinted at promise. Their expectation should be to finish somewhere between sixth, as predicted on average by our staff, and 14th. Newcastle's projected finish — above weekend opponents Aston Villa — may raise eyebrows too. 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The same may be felt about Brentford, predicted to finish 10th by the xPT model. Along with Frank, his coaching staff and Mbeumo, they have also lost captain Christian Norgaard and goalkeeper Mark Flekken, while Yoane Wissa could depart too. The foundations currently in place should serve new manager Keith Andrews well. Caoimhin Kelleher and Jordan Henderson are handy additions, while Kevin Schade, Mikkel Damsgaard, Nathan Collins and Yegor Yarmolyuk, among others, are fantastic players. Advertisement Having finished 10th last season, a regression looks likely, though relegation — as predicted by a fair few of our staff — may be a step too far in a negative direction. Fulham, after an 11th-place finish in a campaign where they competed for a European spot for large swathes, have been predicted to drop all the way to 15th. They have been the least active Premier League side in this transfer window, only signing goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte from Montpellier. 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Wolves still need more incomings, potentially in central midfield and central defence, to build on the second half of last season. At the other end of the table, the usual suspects Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City are expected to fill the top three in exactly that order. A three-pronged fight for the title is on the cards, with all three teams given sizeable probabilities of a finish across the top three by our staff… … and Opta's prediction model. Liverpool are the consensus favourite to repeat their title success after adding Hugo Ekitike, Florian Wirtz, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, all of whom started their Community Shield defeat on penalties to Palace. Isak and Parma defender Giovanni Leoni may yet be added, too. Optimism at Anfield is through the roof but Arne Slot admitted after last Sunday's match that they need to find a balance between attack and defence. Liverpool have conceded 11 goals in seven games in preseason, having taken 14 games to do so in the league last season. Arsenal, meanwhile, struck that balance in their final preseason match, a 3-0 win over Athletic Club. Marquee signing Viktor Gyokeres scored while the Spanish side were limited to just two shots all game. Martin Zubimendi looks at home in midfield alongside Declan Rice, while Noni Madueke, Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera, along with teenage sensation Max Dowman, have shown their value across pre-season. Jurrien Timber, Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori are back to full fitness too. The vibes are good and having come second thrice in a row, perhaps this will be Arsenal's year. How their reconfigured attack functions will be decisive. As for Manchester City, they will have to cope with a Rodri-shaped hole in midfield in the early weeks at least, with the Spaniard not expected to be fully fit before the September international break. The 3-0 pre-season win over Palermo showed that Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki together could provide some solutions in and out of possession. Pep Guardiola finally has a true left-back in Ait-Nouri, while Omar Marmoush should be better after a full pre-season. Advertisement Defensive transitions could hurt them again if Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are forced to play lots of minutes, but otherwise, this City team is much better equipped to deal with the top two than last season's. Right below the current 'Big Three' are Chelsea. Another busy summer has included Club World Cup success (and the theatrics that came with it) in the U.S. and eight arrivals, including Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato and Estevao. This still-massive squad has been trimmed too, with 11 permanent departures. Levi Colwill's ACL injury is the only blot on an otherwise successful preparatory period that has included convincing wins over Bayer Leverkusen and Milan. This is still an inexperienced team, so a title charge could perhaps be a step too far but given their quality in depth, they can trouble all of Liverpool, Arsenal, and City. Nottingham Forest, 11th on the xPT table and predicted to finish 12th by our staff, round out this tier. An unexpectedly successful 2024-25 season had a further win at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which confirmed Forest's presence in the Europa League, replacing Crystal Palace. The summer has seen one key change in Elanga's departure to Newcastle, but the other changes have been around the periphery, with Danilo, Ramon Sosa, Andrew Omobamidele, Matt Turner, and Harry Toffolo all leaving. Dan Ndoye, Igor Jesus, Jair Cunha, and Angus Gunn have joined. Even when considering Nuno Espirito Santo's simple tactical improvements, Forest overperformed in many regards last season. Can Chris Wood score 20 league goals from just 13.4xG again? Will tiring legs and the variance that accompanies their direct approach turn in the opposite direction as they did late last season? The dreaded Thursday-Sunday double-act will undoubtedly bring complications too, and a fall-off feels inevitable. Aston Villa have had a quiet summer, which has led to varying opinions on their floor and ceiling. Evann Guessand is the only signing expected to improve their senior squad that did not bring Marcus Rashford, but kept hold of Ollie Watkins (for now). Ramsey could depart to Newcastle, but Emi Buendia, back from a loan spell at Leverkusen, could act as his in-house replacement. Advertisement Villa dropped two spots in the league last season after finishing fourth in 2023-24 and will also tread the Thursday-Sunday path this season. Another drop-off would be understandable but with Unai Emery, a settled squad, and the likes of Newcastle, their opening-day opponents, in turmoil, maybe less is more, and a European spot for the fourth season running is in the post. Also expected to compete for a European spot once again are Brighton and Hove Albion, predicted to finish ninth by our writers and eighth on xPT. They have been busy this summer, adding Charalampos Kostoulas, Maxim De Cuyper, Diego Coppola and Olivier Boscagli, while Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra, Pervis Estupinan and Valentin Barco have all departed. Joao Pedro, who scored 10 times in 27 league games last season, could be a big miss. Kostoulas, only 18, has big boots to fill alongside 34-year-old Danny Welbeck. Brighton's defence has improved on paper, though, and if they can hold onto Carlos Baleba amid interest from Manchester United, they should be primed for another season in and around the elite teams. Everton provide a more interesting case study. The second half of last season under David Moyes has prompted optimism, which has been compounded by the arrivals of Thierno Barry and Jack Grealish (on loan), even if fans remain divided on the new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Our staff have them finishing 14th, while the xPT model has them one place higher. But a quick glance at my colleague Carl Anka's amnesty for outrageous takes ahead of 2025-26 has seen several suggest Everton to fight for a top-half finish or even European qualification. Moyes did that with West Ham when few expected him to, so it may not be beyond the realms of possibility. Speaking of West Ham, they have said goodbye to multiple players, including a few stalwarts, this summer. Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal, Kurt Zouma and Danny Ings have all left upon the expiry of their contracts, while Kudus was sold to Tottenham. El Hadji Malick Diouf, Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters and Callum Wilson have joined. Advertisement A full pre-season should aid Graham Potter after the team struggled to break out of its Julen Lopetegui funk in the second half of last season. But the ceiling of this team still looks quite bleak, with our writers expecting them to finish 15th while they are 16th on xPT. Perhaps West Ham will surprise us all, but after the topsy-turvy nature of the last three seasons, nobody knows what to expect apart from Jarrod Bowen (13 goals and eight assists in the league last season) to be good again. The final team on this list are Bournemouth, coming off a summer in which they lost Milos Kerkez to Liverpool, Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid and Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain, while Kepa Arrizabalaga departed after his loan spell. Adrien Truffert, Bafode Diakite and Djordje Petrovic have come in, with more activity expected before the end of this month. Keeping hold of Andoni Iraola and Antoine Semenyo is a positive and the hope will be for fewer injuries after Adam Smith, Evanilson and Luis Sinisterra all spent extended time on the sidelines. Lewis Cook, Ryan Christie and Enes Unal are all currently on the injury table, though. Dango Ouattara could depart amid interest from Brentford, with The Athletic reporting on Wednesday that Bayer Leverkusen's Amine Adli could be his replacement. Bournemouth are ninth in xPT and were picked to finish 11th by our staff but could end up several places either side of those due to the chaotic nature of their football and big-name departures from last season's successful core. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
