Thomas Tuchel's England Era Begins.

Karan Ahgun

— 3 min read
Thomas Tuchel's England Era Begins.

Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first game for the England national team against Albania in the World Cup Qualifiers on Friday. During his press duties this week, Tuchel put the message out that he wants his players to play with hunger and not be afraid of losing. The question now is whether Tuchel can implement a winning mentality into the England squad in the lead up to next summer's World Cup.

When Tuchel's first ever England squad was announced, there was a sense of disappointment. The selections of Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker were the main reasons for the disappointment because their selection felt like just a continuation of the previous regime to some England fans. Exciting young players like Djed Spence and Morgan Gibbs-White were initially omitted, despite being amongst some of the most in-form English players and their omission could be seen as the first misstep for Tuchel. The squad selection also showed a bit of short-term thinking in the sense that the main aim for Tuchel is to win the 2026 World Cup and therefore by calling up experienced players, the manager may feel that he would have a better shot at achieving this target. In the case of Jordan Henderson, Tuchel seems to want his winning experience more than his current ability on the pitch. He described Henderson as a "serial winner" and someone who "embodies everything we are trying to build". There's no questioning Henderson's off-pitch qualities as a leader but should England really be having to call him up just for his leadership qualities?

As mentioned before, Tuchel's press duties revealed what he believes to have been the main problem stopping England from getting over the final hurdle in tournaments under Gareth Southgate. Tuchel's comments were explicitly regarding last summer's EUROs in which England lost to Spain. The German said that he "felt tension and pressure" when watching England during the tournament and believes that by bringing "excitement and the hunger and desire to win", the team will be able to get over the line to win the nation's first major international trophy since 1966. To bring this more attacking style of football compared to Southgate's cautious approach, Tuchel wants to implement more traits of Premier League football into the international game. He wants his team to be more physical, more intense and win possession more in the opposition's half. And with the amount of Premier League experience available to Tuchel, there is optimism that he will be able to translate those traits of league football onto the international stage.

England's new era under Thomas Tuchel has an optimistic outlook so far and with over a year to the World Cup, England fans are hoping that the German can inspire their team to becoming winners. Tuchel's track record in knockout football is a point of promise for England fans and players, and his Chelsea side's triumph in the Champions League will definitely be another reason for optimism considering how well he managed to turn that team's fortunes around mid-season. It remains to be seen whether Tuchel will be successful with England but the support for him is certainly growing amongst England fans, who are desperate to witness the nation win again!

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