Thomas Tuchel has admitted there are times when he craves greater control in matches, but the England head coach feels the more chaotic, adrenaline-fuelled nature of the Premier League will remain his template as he targets glory at Euro 2028.
Tuchel described his team as “maybe not the most economical to play football” in terms of their habit of constantly playing at full throttle. His evidence is the World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina in July, when England had nothing left in the tank after going 1-0 up in the 55th minute. They barely touched the ball thereafter, had no control, and were reeled in as Argentina won with two late goals.
The head coach said he would like it if his team “became for 10 minutes more like Spain” when the pressure was on, a reference to the world champions’ ability to dominate the ball and their comfort on it. Ultimately, though, Tuchel will always play to the strengths of his players, to what they are used to and what they have grown up with, even to what the fans in England most like.
That makes for an internal battle, because he is a coach who finds a lack of control hard to digest. “I’m just wrestling with myself,” he said. He questioned whether controlling matches is really part of the English game, asking how many English players in Premier League sides genuinely try to control a game, and whether that is in the national DNA. He also spoke of the training sessions he has seen at the very highest level of his career, full of speed, ball speed, physicality and dribbling, and of how that leaves him struggling over how and when to seek control.
Asked whether England’s attempt to dig in grimly and preserve their 1-0 lead against Argentina was a result of their lack of control, Tuchel answered: “I would say yes.” But he argued that controlling football is not how English supporters cherish a match. “Deep down, in the core, English players and the spectators – and this is a beautiful thing – they go for it,” he said, describing a culture that would rather play for a 6-3 or a 4-3 than a 1-0, and pointing to the “kick-and-rush” of earlier times. In his view there is no English heritage of controlling the game around the middle line, building up deep and drawing the opponent out.
Now that he has a tournament behind him, Tuchel believes the same instincts can be an asset. “This team is ready to fight, is always ready to go,” he said. “This is the beauty of it.” His aim is that in the high-pressure moments where England might otherwise lack courage or energy, the side goes further down that route rather than away from it.
It was put to him that, with the polished players at his disposal, he ought to be able to finesse his gameplan so that England can keep the ball for spells against elite opposition. He said he did not “have the time to coach them” that way. Tuchel’s position is that he has come into a specific football culture: it is not on him to change it, but to work with what he has, including its positive traits. He will not push a different game model, saying: “I know I don’t. I think it will not suit the characteristics of our players.”
He is now looking ahead to the next international cycle and Nations League fixtures against Spain at home, Czechia home and away, and Croatia away.
Tuchel said he had “mixed” feelings about the World Cup because of the Argentina defeat and accepted his team could have played better across the piece. He will not, however, let the second half against Argentina override the positives, and noted that the win over France in the third-place playoff added up to England’s best tournament finish since 1966. “I have never said it was a big success,” he said. “I said there were a lot of positives. It was unfulfilled. But why is the expectation so high? When did we last win it? When did we ever win it? Why is the expectation so high that even bringing home a medal cannot be acknowledged?”