Thomas Tuchel's blood and thunder blueprint: England boss believes he can win World Cup by exploiting unique qualities of the Premier League

Daily Mail​

21 hours ago

The more steps he takes on his journey as England manager, the more Thomas Tuchel comes across obstacles that have stood in the way of those who came before.
How does he bring a group of weary end-of-season footballers to a World Cup start line in good physical shape? Who plays with Declan Rice at the base of England's midfield? Who is the natural successor or alternative to Harry Kane? And what style of football can get England to where they need to go, namely the winners' podium at a big tournament?
Tuchel — about to oversee his third and fourth games in charge of the national team — has recently been wrestling with much of this and so far at least admits that he does not have the answers.
He does, for example, think it is no coincidence that Gareth Southgate 's England played reasonably well at the last World Cup in the middle of an English season.
'The demands of the Premier League became an advantage because they were in the middle of it and felt a certain capacity,' Tuchel mused yesterday.
Equally, he knows this will be hard to replicate in America next summer when it will be hot, often humid and games will come at a time when many of his players — such as those involved in this summer's Club World Cup — will not have had a proper rest for roughly three years.
Tuchel, once a Premier League manager with Chelsea, is convinced of some things, however, and one of them is that
English football has been sniffy about its own strengths for too long. He is determined that his England team will look like one hewn from the Premier League.
He will, for example, place much faith in throw-ins and set-pieces, which he thinks will be particularly important next summer. Dan Burn, Newcastle's towering central defender, should prepare to obtain an American visa.
He will also not shy away from traditional English formations. We will not see a 4-4-2 against lowly Andorra here tonight but we might do when something more structured is required at the World Cup. In terms of individual attributes, Tuchel wants his players to fall back very much on what they know.
'Pace, power and strength,' Tuchel nodded on a Zoom call yesterday. 'I think of strong, aggressive defenders with big personalities. I think about box-to-box midfielders. In general, to play like a Premier League team.
'The majority of our players play in the toughest league in the world and they are used to a kind of rhythm that is unique. The tournaments are normally played after a long season and maybe it is not an advantage for us but it is just a fact.
'We have so many players from different clubs that we need to narrow the idea down and not overload them with too many ideas. We will try to be consistent to form an idea of how we want to be successful.'
Whether we like to admit it or not, English football has carried an inferiority complex for an awful long time. Given we haven't won a tournament for 59 years, maybe we have earned it.
But beating ourselves up over a perceived lack of footballing sophistication in comparison to other European nations has arguably not helped us. Tuchel has no time for it. The German has no interest in luddite football but nor is he asking his players to turn their backs on much of what they know and understand.
'The Premier League is probably viewed as the best league in the world,' said Chelsea defender Reece James. 'A number of us English boys play in that league. The manager was a club manager throughout his career. I think that helps as well and the message from him is quite clear. We try to grow as a team and implement what and how the Premier League teams play.'
At international level, habits are as important as anything. Tuchel has not hidden from the fact that preparation time for next summer is short.
He might not learn much in terms of the football from today's game against a team ranked 173 in the world or indeed next Tuesday's friendly against
Senegal in Nottingham. Nevertheless, cultures, attitudes and principles are slowly being bedded in.
There are some shoo-ins when it comes to his first-choice team at the moment. Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and perhaps Cole Palmer, who has been particularly impressive in training down the road in Girona this week.
Those players apart, the race is on — to use one of Tuchel's own phrases from yesterday.
Just as he will not extend any favours to clubs anxious about players due at the Club World Cup in a week or so, nor will Tuchel accept any slackening of attitude out here. England must win and win well at Espanyol's stadium, being used for the game because Andorra's own home venue is not available.
England should not be overly exerted but there will be some familiarity in terms of Andorra's approach to the game. They will set out to defend and do so in depth and in number. Once again, it will pose a familiar puzzle for an England manager.
Tuchel joked yesterday that eight training sessions — the number he has overseen since starting the job — would represent an introductory amble for a club manager. An opportunity to make acquaintance. For the 51-year-old it's all he has had in approaching half a year in the job.
So if he feels like an international manager wearing a blindfold it is understandable. It's about feeling his way and there is something to admire in his pragmatism.
'We need to learn from the video and we need to learn from the players and what they do in club football,' he said, returning to the issue of style and philosophy. 'Some of the questions will be answered by the club coaches, like, 'Where is the best position for a player?' and 'Where does a player feel confident?'.
'We have a picture of that and we try to make the messages as easy as possible, to not overload the players with different styles of playing and too much information. But of course it's still in the process.'