What sort of football will Thomas Tuchel’s England play?
International management divides opinion.
While many view leading a country as the highest honour in football, others argue that it lacks the tactical depth and elite coaches seen at club level.
With Thomas Tuchel confirmed as England men's national team manager , there is a strong feeling that the FA have landed one of the most tactically astute coaches in the modern game.
Given his ventures in German, French and English football in recent years, many will be familiar with Tuchel's reputation as one of Europe's great modern coaches. However, how will those ideas translate to the current crop of England players? More importantly, can he replicate his club success on the international stage?
What is Tuchel's preferred style?
On the pitch, it isn't straightforward to map out exactly what Tuchel's England could become.
The Athletic's Michael Cox labelled him as a 'tactical chameleon' before his arrival at Chelsea , a two-season stint characterised by flexibility and pragmatism, cycling through several systems in an attempt to wrestle control of every game.
Looking at his preferred formations throughout his managerial career, such variety stands out; the manager is willing to adapt to the players at his disposal. While he erred towards four-man defences at both Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, he largely settled on a 3-4-3 formation in west London, with flying wing-backs Reece James and Marcos Alonso providing the attacking width.
Whatever the approach, Tuchel's ideas hinge on controlling possession in midfield and overloading the centre of the pitch with technical players who can both retain the ball and press quickly when it is lost.
At Chelsea , the width provided by the wing-backs allowed him to keep the rest of his attacking unit narrow ahead of two deeper midfield players, while three athletic centre-backs provided solid cover at the back.
For example, against Brighton below, wingers Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic are close to centre-forward Kai Havertz as Kurt Zouma lines up a pass into the German.
Brighton regain possession after a loose touch from Havertz, but five Chelsea players are positioned centrally to apply instant pressure on the ball. Ziyech closes down the centre-back, Mason Mount and Jorginho step up to block the passing options into midfield, while Pulisic covers the pass out wide.
Adam Webster misplaces the pass, and Mount sends Ziyech through on goal. Only two sides — Liverpool and Brighton — scored more from high regains that season, illustrating the offensive, as well as the defensive value, of such a structured counter-press.
As the visual below illustrates, Tuchel's only full season in London was characterised by possession and defensive solidity, building up slowly and dominating the ball in the opposition half, while ensuring to stay in an optimal shape to cut off the counter-attack at source if the ball is lost. Only eventual champions Manchester City conceded fewer goals, shots on target and non-penalty expected goals throughout the 2021-22 campaign.
While England have often relied on the recovery pace of Kyle Walker to repel fast breaks, evidence suggests that Tuchel will favour a more structural, team-wide approach.
Such a considered approach to build-up often means that Tuchel can implement his style quickly, which is particularly important in international football. Possession increased by almost nine per cent when he took over from Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, while his Chelsea side went 14 unbeaten at the start of his reign — conceding just twice in that run — despite a spell of five defeats in eight Premier League games before he took charge.
- and lots of conflictHow Tuchel achieves such control has varied by team, typically setting up with a 4-2-3-1 formation at Bayern Munich and often electing to keep his full-backs deeper to provide an option in wide areas — with Bayern more likely to progress upfield via the flanks with their pacy wingers.
A double pivot, most commonly Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, would provide overloads in Bayern's first phase of build-up to allow them to progress through the thirds.
Bayern's centre-backs were also not afraid to stretch wide to allow a pivot player or goalkeeper to step between them and provide greater coverage across the width of the pitch to allow easier ball progression.
Reaching the final third was rarely the issue for Bayern last season; their struggles came when facing low-block teams who denied Tuchel's sides the space to create. This was often paired with a vulnerability on the counter-attack as they subsequently looked to force the issue.
Despite his mantra based on controlling the game with possession, defeats by VfL Bochum, Werder Bremen and Heidenheim occurred in games where Bayern had more than 65 per cent of the ball — with gaps often left open to be sucker-punched on the break. Bayern's 10 goals conceded via direct attacks (a proxy for counter-attacking) was the fifth-highest in the Bundesliga last season. For context, title-rivals Bayer Leverkusen conceded just two.
Bayern looked more comfortable in the Champions League , reaching the semi-finals before narrowly exiting against Real Madrid , but it was clear that they were able to find more space against sides more willing to go toe-to-toe with them.
It is a tactical wrinkle that is worthy of flagging from an England perspective, who have had their issues breaking down low-block teams or so-called minnows within international football. One of Tuchel's core tasks will be to ensure that the frustrations that grew under Gareth Southgate will not be repeated on his watch.
Despite the occasional stalemate and smash-and-grab defeat, the underlying numbers show how dominant his Bayern side were in both boxes. Competing with a history-making invincible Leverkusen side was not part of the plan, but Bayern's 1.6 expected goal (xG) difference per 90 — which accounts for the quality of chances created and conceded — was not only the best in the Bundesliga but stronger than any side across Europe's top five leagues in 2023-24.
The narratives of the season may have been hard for Tuchel to claw back control, but the hard facts suggest that there were strong processes in place in Bavaria.
How do Tuchel's ideas fit with England's squad?
Having displayed such tactical flexibility throughout his career, we can expect to see some experimentation from Tuchel as he tries to get the best out of this England squad.
Broadly speaking, the 51-year-old's preference for a narrow attacking unit is intriguing in the context of the Cole Palmer , Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham debate. Playing with two No 10's — as he has done in spells at each of his last four clubs — could theoretically allow Tuchel to fit more central players behind Harry Kane , with the defensive tenacity of Bellingham particularly valuable from a counter-pressing point of view.
Getting those talented attackers close to Kane, who netted 44 times in all competitions last season (31 non-penalty league goals) in a narrow Tuchel system, will be high on the new boss's list. There is no doubting the admiration that the German has for England's all-time top goalscorer.
"He's a very different profile to all of my other players," Tuchel told the Bundesliga official website last season.
"He can play as a nine, a fox in the box like no other with outstanding finishing, but he also assists. He has great skills in playing the last pass and second-to-last pass, as well as great link-up play with our fast wingers, so it's amazing. I always say you learn from your players, if you have the privilege to be a coach, especially at this level, and you learn a lot from Harry."
As a knock-on effect of Kane's qualities, the most compelling question marks are out wide.
Tuchel's inclination towards aggressive, overlapping full-backs with narrow No 10s worked well during his time at Chelsea. He has also shown his ability to accommodate the pace and trickery of natural wingers Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman during his time at Bayern, with Kane dropping into pockets of space behind the opposition's midfield.
This raises questions about England's attacking approach. Will he maximise the speed and directness of Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka , who do their best work from wide areas? Or will he lean more heavily on the technical ability of Foden, Bellingham, or Palmer as narrow No 10s with width provided by full-backs or wing-backs?
Match-fit left-backs have been hard to come by in England in recent months, but Tuchel's tactical preferences could be positive news for Lewis Hall , Tino Livramento or Leif Davis in a marauding wing-back spot.
Crucially, Tuchel has proven that he has the tactical acumen to adapt his approach in-game if things don't go immediately to plan. Where criticisms were levelled at Southgate's inability to react quickly enough from the touchline, Tuchel offers greater experience in making subtle tweaks in crucial moments — most recently during Bayern's Champions League semi-final.
More broadly, Tuchel has never shied away from brushes with the hierarchies at each of the clubs he has managed, particularly concerning transfer activity. Of course, that will not be an issue at international level but Tuchel will need to build a positive relationship with the FA's chief executive officer Mark Bullingham to show that he can manage upwards without friction.
While club football comes with its own chaos, in Tuchel's three most recent roles at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, he averaged a tenure of one year, nine months and 15 days. A similar length of time with England would take him just beyond the 2026 World Cup.
Tuchel is undoubtedly a stronger tactician than his statesman-like predecessor Southgate but, equally, you cannot disregard the ambassadorial presence that is required in international football.
Confidence comes naturally to Tuchel. Where some might be cautious in their first dealings with the media, he was absolute in his intentions.
"I want to put the second star on this shirt," Tuchel said in his press conference on Wednesday. "We will work hard for the biggest target in football: making our dream come true at the World Cup 2026."
Over to you, Thomas.
(Header design: Dan Goldfarb; photo: )
