Inside Thomas Tuchel’s first England camp – and the way the gamers actually really feel

On Tuesday morning, Thomas Tuchel and his staff went through the debrief of his first England camp. They are already thinking about the June squad, but the feeling has so far been “very positive”.

That may seem a little over the top given it was an aggregate 5-0 over two moderate national teams at home, but this is about so much more than just results. Tuchel himself has talked about how these are first games against sides with extremely low blocks, which is going to complicate his own adaptation to international level.

None of that is really a concern for the long term, and it is the long term that is, of course, the point.

Tuchel isn’t trying to build a team to convincingly win forgiving games in qualifiers. England can already do that. What they haven’t yet been able to do for some time is beat the very best sides in matches that matter, and that’s what he is trying to change.

It’s almost a strange inversion of how things used to go. The old reaction to only beating Latvia 3-0 at home might have been to wonder what chance you have against the best if that’s all you can do against the lesser ranked. Now, it’s generally acknowledged that the context is different. There’s only so much you can do in terms of a wider system when the opposition just sit back.

“I probably stayed a bit higher because their block was so low, there was no point in me coming back as well,” captain Harry Kane explained.

Regarding that point, the players have been struck by how much Tuchel immerses himself in the tactics.

Asked what stood out over the last few days, Kane pinpointed “his energy and his enthusiasm”.

“He’s very much involved in the squad, even on the training pitch but also outside of the pitch as well, whether it’s watching other games in the lounge area or being around the boys a bit more,” added the skipper.

“He wants to have the involvement, he wants to see the players all the time, how they are, how they are reacting.”

Players have been very impressed with the depth of tactical insight that Tuchel offers, where one little element he’s spotted can feel like it opens up an entire area of the pitch. The use of Myles Lewis-Skelly is indicative of this, most notably through the areas that Tuchel has told him to run into.

Some players even feel they are already evolving more systems than they had under Gareth Southgate. The lines aren’t as rigid. The team can be more flexible. The midfield has much more fluidity, as the most obvious change. It isn’t a fixed two or a three any more. Again, Lewis-Skelly almost seamlessly moves from offering balance at pace on the left to the greatly needed “double six” in the centre.

The only issue there is a recurring one, that isn’t really going to have a solution until next summer. Basically, it’s impossible to know whether these approaches will work until you play top-class opposition. That shouldn’t be an argument to stop, however. It’s the nature of the level, and it’s better to experiment than not.

There is also a clarity to some of what England are doing in attack, despite both Albania and Latvia understandably trying to create this cloud of bodies in their area. The team play much higher up the pitch with a lot of touches in and around the box, and fast wide play. It is quite “Premier League”, in the way that Tuchel wants.

It still does raise the greater question over whether that is suitable to a tournament in a hot summer, but the intensity can of course be tempered.

The backline may also pose a concern, especially as Tuchel doesn’t yet seem sure of what his central defence will look like. Marc Guehi was returned to the XI for the Latvia game, only to have a moment of near-calamity with Jordan Pickford. Tuchel was asked about Harry Maguire and said he wasn’t called up due to not being at the “rhythm” of other defenders in the last few months, but also not being fully fit at the time of selection. The manager ultimately didn’t want to take a risk on the latter.

“Harry knows that,” Tuchel said. “It’s not so easy for him at the club at the moment. He plays in a back three on top of it but he’s a top professional and he’s very important for England. He took it unbelievably well. He wrote me messages to wish us good luck and you see what a person he is. He is a top guy and he will always be in contention.”

Away from the tactics, Jordan Henderson has already been hailed as bringing back the best of Southgate’s time, which was the culture. The fact it’s early days in a new manager’s tenure obviously helps, but the former Liverpool midfielder has contributed positively to the mood. He is constantly encouraging, while at the same time setting higher standards in training.

Henderson’s recall has repeatedly been put in the context of Jude Bellingham’s outsized influence. The Real Madrid star is exciting when he offers passes like he did for the Lewis-Skelly goal against Albania that launched the Tuchel era. but less so when he has to be substituted off to avoid a second booking, as happened against Latvia.

Tuchel was asked about that decision, which was naturally framed about what might have happened if it was a World Cup match. He was dismissive of the question.

“Yeah, but he didn’t get sent off so we shouldn’t make a drama now like he was flying home,” Tuchel elaborated. “He didn’t get sent off and we took him off and we won 3-0, so I take this for the first match in the World Cup.

“This was not like a discipline problem. Two challenges and he got an early booking. The second one could have been but would have been harsh… he knows that he can’t afford that. He’s emotional and he’s also still young so it’s also part of his game.”

The manager was smiling and joking around all of this, so he’s clearly pretty content. The same was true of the players.

“Overall a really positive camp,” Kane summed up. “We saw more signs out there today of what he wants and I think that will just grow and grow as the camps go.”