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England’s World Cup campaign was led by two world-class talents: captain Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
Of the Three Lions’ 14 goals, Kane and Bellingham scored 12 between them – six each – with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon making other contributions.
Tuchel has been hampered by Arsenal duo Dylan Rice and Bukayo Saka struggling with illness and injury, which has reduced the effectiveness of the pairing.
John Stones remains a class act but is now 32. Elsewhere, England are solid and reliable rather than impressive.
England, like World Cup finalists and European champions Spain, or France with their prodigious attacking prowess, and Argentina’s lack of in-built will and reluctance to strike, have been aided by the enduring brilliance of Lionel Messi.
This means their campaign is limited, and occasionally saved, by staying in the moment. He is not known for his good performances.
In the last 32, it was Kane’s late goal that pulled England back from the brink of defeat in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bellingham was the keeper with two goals against Norway in the quarterfinals.
It was then that Tuchel praised England’s mentality but belittled the game’s lack of quality.
England deserve a lot of credit for their great World Cup victory when they beat Mexico in Mexico City through the Azteca Cauldron, but did they play well?
Only if you count the 30 minutes of the second half in their 4-2 win over Croatia in the opening group game.
Kane was just 15 minutes away from being humiliated against DRC.
Despite the experience in the England squad and the quality of the likes of Rice and Elio Anderson in midfield, Tuchel’s team lacks possession and quality.
Tuchel said possession “plays a crucial role”.
“It may not be in our DNA like Spanish DNA or Argentine or Brazilian DNA to take the ball, to control the game and the ball, and that’s a big problem,” he said.
“I think we can still show how good football players we are. I think that’s still in us, as I see in training and in every camp.”
That’s why they often face teams they don’t expect to win, and that’s why Croatia cruised past England in Moscow in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
It would be unfair to label England as football’s “flat bullies”, but the Heat have a record against the best teams when it comes to weaknesses both on the pitch and in technical terms. Or both.
If there’s one stat to undermine Tuchel’s strategy, it’s England’s failure to control the game when Anthony Gordon had 12% possession after 55 minutes in the World Cup semi-final against Argentina with Lautaro Martinez’s winner three minutes from time.
Tuchel essentially built England using a Premier League template in style and system, with a back four, midfield anchors in Rice and Elliott, Bellingham at 10, then two orthodox wide men.
All very well – in the Premier League. It’s clear that they want a lot at the elite level in the World Cup.
England lacks physicality and a bit of skill, but apart from Kane and Bellingham, they don’t have another X-factor that can make good margins in big games.
The concern of the Football Association is that they have now tried everything.
Tuchel was meant to be the anti-Gareth Southgate, even though the same Southgate took England to two Euro finals and a World Cup semi-final.
The German should have been the best coach to make a difference by shedding the mantle of conservatism that had held back England under Southgate.
Tuchel will be the difference between a hard luck story and a success story.
Instead, with England leading and dominating the World Cup semi-finals, Tuchel went into a tactical retreat that many wanted Southgate out of town for.
