Thomas Tuchel has lived life in the fast lane as one of the world’s elite coaches. He won the Champions League with Chelsea, spent two years in charge of superstars at Paris Saint-Germain and won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich — but if he is to add a World Cup trophy as England head coach to his glittering resume, he can forget about the fast lane for a while.
The 51-year-old is on a long and winding road to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year and he is going to have to get used to coasting along and learning very little. That is, until the moment when it really matters and there is no time for second chances.
England’s 3-0 victory against Latvia at Wembley on Monday — just like the 2-0 home win against Albania on Friday in Tuchel’s first game in charge — has given the new coach winning start that he and everyone connected with the Three Lions would have expected when Group K of the European World Cup qualifiers was drawn last December.
But as the paper aeroplanes drifted down from the Wembley stands from as early as the 12th minute in a stadium that was silent for lengthy periods, Tuchel will have discovered the reality of his new job: easy wins against vastly inferior opponents that leave the crowd so bored that the loudest cheers, outside of celebrating goals, come when one of those paper aeroplanes makes it onto the playing surface.
Tuchel signed up for the England job last October because it offered the challenge of winning a World Cup. The club game — especially the major leagues and, above all, the Champions League — is where the elite want to be, and Tuchel has proved himself at the very –highest level. But the World Cup is something else. The unbridled joy of Lionel Messi — among the club game’s most decorated players — after winning it with Argentina at Qatar 2022 is proof of that.
Yet Tuchel’s toughest opponent between now and the start of the 2026 World Cup in June next year is likely to be frustration, and maybe even boredom. Why? He is pretty much unable to properly test himself and his players until the World Cup actually begins.
For a coach who is as demanding as Tuchel, England’s easy path to the World Cup is not a good thing. His career has been defined by his intensity, his ability to make decisive in-game changes to personnel and tactics and his will to win.
Winning at a canter against Albania before doing the same against Latvia did not require any of Tuchel’s special characteristics. Both games involved opponents camping out in their defensive third, aiming to suffocate England’s attacks and keep the score down. This is not Premier League-style football when two sides will try to win, or a Champions League test of quality and tactical nous.
Tuchel admitted before this game that he is still adjusting to international football after a long career in the club game.
“I need to adapt to the rhythm of international football,” Tuchel said. “The challenge to prepare in three days — with 20 players from, I don’t know, 10, 12 different clubs — one idea of football.
“I’m not the most patient guy in the world when it comes to that, but I will learn and push the players.”
England’s absence from the top tier of the UEFA Nations League meant they had to watch on as the quarterfinals offered heavyweight clashes including Germany-Italy, France-Croatia and Spain-Netherlands this week. Instead, Tuchel’s team faced a team ranked No. 65 in the FIFA Men’s world rankings (Albania) and another ranked No. 140 (Latvia). England are ranked No. 4.
Serbia are England’s highest-ranked rivals in the group, sitting in 32nd position — two places above Russia, who haven’t played a meaningful game for over three years. Next up for England are back-to-back games against Andorra, who are ranked in 171st position. A friendly against Senegal (ranked 17th) in June will at least offer England something of a test, but it’s a friendly at the end of a long season, so Tuchel will only learn so much from that game.
Yet he has to learn something from the games that he has. The English FA have said Tuchel should have 15 games before his first World Cup fixture, and the win against Latvia the second. But it may be next March — a full year away — before a friendly can be arranged against a team capable of really testing Tuchel and his players.
Can any coach realty learn whether Newcastle’s Dan Burn is ready to step up to international level against Albania? Will the performances of Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson against Albania and Latvia give any indication as to whether they can be relied upon against a heavyweight in a World Cup quarterfinal next year?
The answer to both questions is a firm no, but time will tell whether that also applies to those wondering if Harry Kane can deliver against the major nations at the World Cup as often as he does against the minnows.
The Bayern Munich forward’s goal against Latvia, in between after Reece James free-kick opener and a deflected Eberechi Eze strike, was his 71st international goal, so Tuchel will hope the 31-year-old can continue to spearhead his side all the way to World Cup glory next year.
Tuchel simply has to wait and show the patience that he admits is not one of his strongest qualities. England hired him to make the difference at the sharp end of a World Cup, when his ability should come to the fore.
But as he prepares for the 75-day wait until his next game, against the not-so-mighty Andorra, Tuchel will just have to accept that his job won’t really start until June 2026, when every game could be his last.
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