WEMBLEY — There is something rather valiant about Thomas Tuchel. He is a man of conviction, and regardless of the outside noise, he will stick to his principles, no matter what.
He is clearly trying to build something with England. The “brotherhood” he speaks of so often is palpable. On another day, with a little bit more conviction, England would have seen out those final few minutes against Argentina two months ago and booked a second-ever men’s World Cup final appearance.
What is so concerning is that this is the fundamental difference between the great and the good. Winning tournaments and never-ending near misses. Tuchel taking his place in the pantheon of greats or becoming yet another who divides opinion.
Spain, on paper, cannot hold a candle to some of the individual talent England possess. Yet, in those pressurised moments, they remain unflustered, passing their opponents into submission to take home yet another trophy.
And Tuchel simply misses the point.
“I’m just wrestling with myself, because even if you control matches in the Premier League, how many English players are there in these teams that really try to control matches?” Tuchel said.
“Is this in our DNA? Do we really value control? Is this something that makes us feel good in a match? Is this something that comes easy to us?
“This is also something I’m still undecided on, because I saw training sessions on the very highest level of my career. But I see training sessions with a lot of speed, with a lot of ball speed, with a lot of physicality, with a lot of dribbling.
“So, it makes me struggle, because we’re talking about the highest-pressure moments, a semi-final against Argentina, 80% of the stadium is Argentinian. So now can you please become Spain for 15 minutes?
“It’s not how English fans cherish a match. I don’t think that an English supporter goes to a Premier League match and wants to see a controlled match and a 1-0 win, late. Deep down in the core, English players – and it’s a beautiful thing – and the spectators, they go for it.
“Let’s not play 1-0. We want to put the ball up front. And this is what I feel now that I have a tournament as an experience, I feel that this team is ready to fight, is always ready to go, and this is the beauty of it.”
Tuchel was certainly in a combative mood when naming his latest squad in a Wembley private box overlooking the pitch being readied for some American football action on Friday.
He admitted to being taken aback by some of the questioning. He, rather delusionally, insisted 99 per cent of the feedback he has received since returning home was looking back on the high points, like England’s superb display in the Azteca against Mexico, rather than the heartbreaking exits.
The fact he came out fighting should be heartening. He is right to point to England’s swashbuckling qualification campaign for the World Cup, where the goals flowed. And he is entitled to allow England to take the attack to Croatia in the group stages of a major tournament.
Read more
Harry Kane winning the Ballon d’Or would anger all the right people
A supremo of his experience and knowhow, however, should be able to instruct £100m footballers to be able to pass the ball with the same level of retention as Spain’s possession experts. Regardless of the opponents. And thus give England a better chance of finally ending decades of hurt.
“I never said this summer was a big success,” an embattled Tuchel continued. “I said there were a lot, a lot of positives about it. I think Spain relied heavily on some last-minute goals of Mikel Merino.
“So do you think if they lost the campaign they would be unhappy? I never said ‘big success’. I said it’s ‘unfulfilled’. It’s part of my review.
“But why is the expectation so high? When did we last win it? When did we ever win it? Why is the expectation so high that even bringing home a medal cannot be acknowledged? I’m not sure that I have the time to coach them to [keep the ball].”