Oh hello there, I was wondering if you could help me? It’s just that I bought this England fun-ometer from you recently and I think it might have broken down already. It was working fine last week, but now it only seems to be blowing out hot air. Just a little jape, don’t know if you spotted it. Something to lift the mood a touch, or perhaps simply spark you into life after watching another turgid England group stage performance. Nice to hear your own fans booing you, as Wayne Rooney once said. At least that meant they were awake, Wayne.
After all, this is what England do. Forget 2010, Tuesday evening was the fourth major tournament in a row that they have drawn their second group game and it has hardly stopped them progressing to their later stages. It’ll be OK. Or it won’t. It’s also what Thomas Tuchel’s England have done on repeated occasions. It’s not fair to call this a Gareth Southgate hangover. England played 180 minutes against Andorra in qualifying and scored three goals, remember. Or try to forget, whichever works best for you.
Ghana merit great praise. I want to start there because it will get lost. Carlos Queiroz inherited a side in dreadful form and he has created a team. If an XI is at its best when playing in the image of their manager, stop the count. Ghana defended deep, countered, deserved a penalty to win the game and have almost certainly qualified for the knockouts. Congratulations to them.
Nor was it all bad from England. The substitute wingers made a difference, as against Croatia. They created more in the last five minutes plus added time than in the rest of the game because somebody had finally told them to inject some urgency. Harry Kane missed the type of chance that he always scores and gave us all flashbacks to that second France penalty in 2022.
But Tuchel has a problem here. His plan in this tournament is to get Jude Bellingham as close to Harry Kane as possible, which makes some sense because it gets Bellingham running beyond Kane when he drops deep and gives Kane support when he stays high. Bellingham was named as the official Man of the Match against Ghana, although possibly more on the basis that they had to pick someone.
So this isn’t on Bellingham, but what moving him does in the current circumstances. You see it only works if the wingers are able to provide service and be the creative influence. Against Croatia that wasn’t an issue because England’s opponents played a high defensive line that left space in behind. Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon are both far better wingers when they are afforded space, although Gordon has been poor in both matches.
Against Ghana, with their low block and full-backs defending at all times, they were rotten. Instead, what happens is this: winger gets the ball, fails to beat (or even take on) his man and so instead turns back and passes the ball into midfield, where the ball is passed around for a bit and then ends at the feet of one of the two wingers. Rinse and repeat that same process. Let’s call it the passing crescent of doom.
It’s not just an attacking problem: with England unable to break down teams they inevitably push players further forward and leave themselves open to counter attacks. They were fortunate against Ghana. Senegal and Japan, the two defeats of Tuchel’s tenure to date, broke England in the same way.
Bukayo Saka coming back into the team will help, not least because he can actually beat a full-back for speed and skill. But while he is unfit to start – and even with him in the team – England must find another solution against deeper-lying defences.
How to fix turgid England
My idea would be to drop one of the wingers – Gordon if Saka is fit to start – but not for a like-for-like replacement. Instead I’d like to see Morgan Rogers in the hybrid No 10-winger role that he has for Aston Villa. You ask the left full-back to overlap and provide attacking width (with Rice covering that position) and have Rogers drifting infield to find pockets of space. He can dovetail with Bellingham to offer variation that creates uncertainty for opponents.
There is no need for – or point in – mass panic. England will still top the group. The World Cup will not be defined by the second group game, just as previous tournaments haven’t been. The fun-ometer can be fixed because it’s still under warranty.
But on this evidence, England’s forthcoming opponents have their blueprint: defend deep, tell the full-backs to stay close to the inverted wingers and allow them to turn onto their stronger foot and back towards central midfield. It is on Tuchel to change that record. He has the first headache of his England World Cup experience.
Jude Bellingham arrived at this World Cup as one of the most exciting talents in world football, fresh off an outstanding season for Real Madrid. His ability to drive forward, link play, and score goals made him an automatic starter for England. However, Tuchel’s decision to deploy him as a second striker behind Harry Kane has backfired. In theory, it overloads the opposition’s central defenders with two world-class players. In practice, it isolates the wingers and leaves midfield exposed. Against Ghana, England’s midfield struggled to control the game, with Declan Rice often left covering large spaces as Bellingham pushed forward. The result was a disjointed performance that lacked creativity.
The issue is compounded by the form of England’s wingers. Anthony Gordon, so effective for Newcastle, has looked lost in two group matches. He fails to take on his full-back, constantly checks back, and rarely delivers dangerous crosses. Noni Madueke, on the other flank, shows moments of brilliance but lacks consistency. Bukayo Saka remains England’s best wide option, but his fitness is a concern. Without a winger who can stretch the play, England become predictable and easy to defend against.
Thomas Tuchel must now decide whether to persist with the Bellingham experiment or revert to a more balanced formation. Dropping Bellingham deeper – into a midfield three alongside Rice and Jude Lively – could restore control, but it would reduce his goal threat. Alternatively, switching to a 3-4-3 with wing-backs could provide the width that is currently missing. The key is to find a system that gets the best out of Bellingham without sacrificing team cohesion. England fans will hope Tuchel finds the answer before the knockout stages begin.
Source: The i Paper News