On the surface everything about England’s stress-free qualifying campaign, from the easy wins to the frequent squad selection complaints, is the same as it ever was.
So normal has this journey become that fans and onlookers assume there is very little to learn from engaging in debate. Either you believe the strength of England’s qualifying results are a sign of their powerful status in the game or that they are a cruel way of tricking the nation into believing England are better than they really are. Nobody is changing their minds anymore.
But squint and this one really is different. Thomas Tuchel has the strongest pool to choose from of any England manager in history, and, more to the point, he is showing unusual dexterity both in navigating the psychological aspects of the role and understanding how to re-create club dynamics in the international setup.
Slowly, very slowly, he is teaching the English that England caps are not prizes for good form, that the international side should not simply be the best 11 English footballers thrown onto the pitch together. Tuchel is picking a first team and a squad for its balance, not based on form or who is the biggest superstar.
Subtly, that is a major step forward for the nation. But of course it could still count for nothing because, as has always been the case, success or failure will come down to a couple of knockout games against elite nations, meaning it will have as much to do with luck as skill – and almost nothing to do with how the camp gelled during qualifying.
Nevertheless there is work to be done along the way and, seven months out from the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel has plenty of issues to iron out; plenty of things on the to-do list.
The good news for Tuchel is that many of the dilemmas can be addressed directly in this month’s games against Serbia at Wembley and Albania in Tirana.
The first and most pressing is re-integrating Jude Bellingham on his terms – or not. Managing egotistical star players is a speciality of Tuchel’s and we should begin to see fruits of that in this international window. Bellingham will either return with the right attitude, accepting the status given to him by the manager, or he will be exiled entirely.
It is wrong to frame Tuchel’s task as needing to find a way for Bellingham to excel. If the Real Madrid player cannot adapt then he is not of use to a squad that can easily replace Bellingham with Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, or Phil Foden.
That brings us onto the secondary concern, which is how to find space for Foden in a more central role. Only against weaker nations is there room for Foden and another eight/ten in the mould of Rogers or Bellingham, but despite Rogers’ form under Tuchel there is still time for the Manchester City man to make that spot his own.
Still, there is an embarrassment of riches here, and therefore a greater challenge for Tuchel is solving the full-back positions. Nico O’Reilly’s call-up could offer a solution on the left, and if Reece James stays fit then the issue will disappear. Then again, there remains the distinct possibility England’s starting full-backs in the Americas will end up being Djed Spence and Lewis Myles-Skelly; decent, but most definitely a weakness compared to their rivals.
There is one spot open in central midfield, too, and although Elliot Anderson may have felt he had this position nailed down call-ups for Adam Wharton and Alex Scott suggest the England manager is still mulling this over.
The media believe that England also need to find adequate backup to Harry Kane, although Tuchel’s decision not to replace the injured Ollie Watkins tells us he thinks otherwise. Clearly Kane, Watkins, and Marcus Rashford is the right blend for the England manager.
A gradual integration of O’Reilly, Bellingham, Wharton, and Scott should be easily done against Serbia and Latvia, meaning it is conceivable that by the end of the next fortnight Tuchel will broadly know the squad he wishes to take to the World Cup.
But that will still leave the biggest task of all, the one he is yet to even begin to embark upon.
Tuchel’s England have not played any of the three or four nations who can win the 2026 World Cup. Not until that challenge is met head on, when the tactical battle shifts completely, when inexperienced players like Anderson or O’Reilly will come up against a dramatically different challenge, will we know if this incarnation is any better than the one that consistently fell at the final hurdle under Gareth Southgate.
The March friendlies are reportedly likely to be against Uruguay and Japan, and June is always set aside for games against nations who haven’t qualified for the World Cup.
It’s almost as if Tuchel and the FA are deliberately delaying getting answers. England might have evolved significantly under Tuchel but, as ever, they will begin an international tournament effectively untested.
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