Tuchel's England analysed: How good are they?

Thomas Tuchel's England have only played six games together and Tuesday's 5-0 win against Serbia was the most impressive.

With the World Cup fast approaching, Tuchel has the difficult challenge of refining his best 11 and the tactics he uses in a very short period of time.

So what have we learned so far from his short tenure?

BBC Sport analyses how Tuchel has aimed to use his England squad, and their strengths and weaknesses, so far.

England have won all five of their World Cup qualifiers without conceding a goal. A friendly against Senegal was Tuchel's only blip as England lost 3-1, despite fielding a fairly strong side.

An impressive record, but fan sentiment around England prior to the impressive display against Serbia was split and there was a sense they had lacked the dominance a team of their quality should have displayed.

However, over this period we have seen a set of principles from Tuchel that have remained fairly consistent, gradually being refined game on game.

What are these tactical principles and do they hold England in good stead for the World Cup?

England have largely played in a 4-4-1-1 shape.

In build-up, England have moved between various shapes including a 2-3-5, a 3-2-5 and even a 2-1-7 on Tuesday, as illustrated below, with the full-backs key to this.

In the 3-2-5, one full-back will join the two centre-backs. The three at the back on the ball is a solution to build up around certain opposition presses, with the additional player acting as an extra passing option.

When the shape becomes a 2-3-5, typically both full-backs have been used by Tuchel either side of a defensive midfielder.

This frees the second central midfielder to push up, which has been Morgan Rogers or Curtis Jones. It also ensures that central areas behind the ball are occupied by good defenders, providing structural and individual defensive quality.

Against Serbia, we saw a more front-footed build-up shape. England built up with both central defenders, Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, with midfielder Elliot Anderson in front of them. These three players shouldered much of the build-up responsibility themselves and both full-backs and Declan Rice changed positions throughout the game.

Reece James' position in the build-up was interesting.

At times, he stayed wider when compared with how Tuchel has used his full-backs before. By positioning both James and Noni Madueke wide, it forced Serbia to bring extra players into those wide areas to deal with the overload England had.

If Serbia did commit to the wide areas, their midfield three became stretched. If they didn't, England could progress down the right flank with ease. This use of two players in the wide areas (termed 'double width') is a smart tactic to progress around centrally compact teams.

An additional option to progress the ball up the pitch, without leaving extra players back, is for certain players to drop deep to collect the ball. England's attacking midfielder and main striker Harry Kane also drop deep to show for the ball like they did under former manager Gareth Southgate.

This also opens up space down the middle for players to turn and run into after Kane drags the opposition central defender with him. Runs from deep areas including from full-backs like Myles Lewis-Skelly have exploited these spaces well.

Against Serbia, Kane was found dropping into central midfield positions and it was Madueke, Anthony Gordon and Rogers who burst into the gaps from wide.

Tuchel has stressed the need for off-the-ball running in behind defences to stretch the back line, open up spaces for team-mates and to receive the ball over the top in goal scoring situations.

Tuchel has shown a willingness to take extra risks and to play with attacking intent. We've touched upon the manager's emphasis on off-the-ball running, with England having played direct passes from deeper in order to find these attackers more often.

Under previous coaches, England have played a lot more safely in games they dominate the ball in. Tuchel's England aim to dominate the ball but aren't afraid to play a riskier, longer pass in order to try and create a bigger chance.

Tuchel gives his wingers lots of responsibility, often creating game situations in which they are one-versus-one against their full-back too.

In these situations he wants wingers to showcase their top level quality to create individually brilliant solutions.

Chance creation isn't strictly born out of pre-planned routines. So far, it is Madueke who seems to have shone most brightly in this regard, playing with a confidence and front footedness that England have missed since Raheem Sterling lost his place in the England squad.

England have famously struggled to get all their best players into a single starting eleven and managers have tried to do so, often to the detriment of the team.

The selections of Anderson and Madueke over other more established names is a step in the right direction, if continued.

Tuchel has focused on picking players who are more suited to his tactics, on the pitch and in their best zones.

Both wingers have a natural tendency to run in behind. Rogers has an eye for goal and the legs to accommodate Kane's relative lack of athleticism.

All three players behind the Bayern Munich striker were well suited to make use of his excellent passing quality too.

Gordon is a player who thrives attacking big spaces as well as inverting closer to goal and pairing him with fellow club team-mate Tino Livramento, who is comfortable overlapping on the left, was an appropriate use of the duo.

International football poses a unique challenge for managers.

With minimal time to embed tactical ideas and build free-flowing relationships, Tuchel's use of playing domestic team-mates familiar with each other is intelligent; Livramento paired with Newcastle team-mate Gordon on the left wing, with ex-Chelsea team-mates James and Madueke on the right flank.

England are playing more directly whilst empowering their exciting wingers to showcase their quality, but Tuchel isn't forgetting to use pragmatic solutions, notably in the form of long throws.

After a recent press conference, he stated "the long throw-in is back". This is a fair conclusion considering the opening weekend of Premier League football saw an average of 3.2 long throws per game, up from 1.52 the season before.

When facing teams that stubbornly deeply defend their own box, the first goal is paramount in forcing teams to come out, opening up space to attack.

The use of throw-in situations as set-pieces give teams an additional chance to initially break that deadlock and require the appropriate attention.

Clever free-kicks and corner routines are key too, and it is clear Tuchel and his backroom staff have made this central to their system.

The opening goal against Serbia completely changed the direction of the game and from a well-worked corner.

Serbia set up to defend the corner in a zonal fashion, staying in specific zones.

Following Rice's out-swinging cross, Serbia's defenders were drawn to the ball but the positioning of England's players in front of the Serbians meant they could stand in the way, blocking them from getting to the ball. Kane lingered deeper and was able to score, uncontested.

It was calculated, deliberate and effective with England trying the same routine earlier in the game prior to the goal.

We haven't touched much upon the defensive tactics of Tuchel's England, given the nature of the games played.

England have dominated much of the ball and when they have lost it, they've aimed to press teams soon after, preventing them from getting out.

When teams have launched counter-attacks, the players behind the ball have managed fairly well too. This has been largely personnel related, with Guehi and Rice standing out.

England did look vulnerable against Senegal conceding chances and goals, which often came when the opposition could hold on to the ball.

England's 4-4-2 shape was bypassed initially by Senegal's defence, who passed the ball across the back line before carrying it up the pitch, often on Kane's side.

Kane, who has impressed in possession, was a weak point for England out of possession, unable to get across or contest defenders pushing up.

England's defensive shape wasn't very deep and they aimed to block space closer to the middle of the pitch. They failed to apply enough pressure to the Senegal defenders on the ball, who were in turn able to find quick attackers running in behind England's defence.

This direct attacking style against quick attackers may be something more technical sides will look to do, if England's settled defensive approach remains the same.

With the exception of knowing how good England are against sustained possession from more impressive teams, Tuchel's England have a strong foundation.

The England boss has integrated a wide array of players well, profiling his players appropriately with a good sense for balance and chemistry across the side.

He aims to maximise fine margin gains in order to increase the likelihood England score in close, one-off games, whilst broadly encouraging an attacking style that takes more risk than England have taken in the past.

England still have some of their biggest names to come back, but if Tuchel can reintegrate some of them whilst sticking to the principles we have seen already, there is potential for England to perform well this summer.

Source: BBC
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