Have England Progressed Under Thomas Tuchel?

There have been some promising under the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager. England cruised through qualifying with six conseucitve wins without conceding to become the first European side to reach the World Cup finals.

Does such an achievement showcase England's improvement since Tuchel took charge?

Tuchel led England to three successive World Cup Qualifier victories to start his national team reign. 

Victories over Albania, Latvia and Andorra appeared routine on paper, although performances were not always convincing. In particular, England’s narrow 1-0 win against Andorra away raised questions about whether the Three Lions were being positive enough under Tuchel. 

Tuchel’s only defeat as England manager so far came in June as an electric Senegal side dismantled the Three Lions. Senegal's desire and ruthlessness was in complete contrast to a lethargic England, who made mistakes and were punished to maximum effect on the counter-attack. 

Similar concerns arose when England beat Andorra 2-0 at home in September. A low-tempo display of few chances led to frustration from the home crowd at Villa Park, who wanted to see more urgency and dominance. 

That performance proved to be a turning point in Tuchel’s short tenure. Already under some pressure, Tuchel and England had to deliver a more front-footed response in Serbia, and the reaction certainly came. 

The 5-0 triumph in Belgrade was England’s most complete performance in the Tuchel era so far. Before that result, Serbia hadn’t conceded in five consecutive home matches and had held European champions Spain and Denmark to 0-0 draws and beat Switzerland 2-0. 

It was a potentially tricky fixture, which England navigated well. The Three Lions controlled the tempo, took their chances and were completely dominant, highlighted by the XG of 4.22-0.08.

England then completed qualifying with another 5-0 away win in Latvia, looking much more confident, assured and complete. 

Such control over matches shows Tuchel’s growth as the national team coach. He showed an ability to set up a team with the right balance to take on potentially tough opponents capable of disrupting the rhythm and consistency of top sides, living up to his reputation as a pragmatic coach. 

Although Tuchel has had some early bedding-in issues, the signs of development bring cause for optimism leading into the final two qualifiers against Serbia and Albania. 

Tuchel should receive credit for getting England to the 2026 World Cup so quickly. However, it’s hard to measure true progress until the Three Lions face a world-class side.

All of England’s opponents in qualifying under Tuchel are placed outside of the top 30 in the FIFA world rankings. The expectation is that England should be winning these games.

The only time England have really been tested is against Senegal, who are ranked 18th. 

Further competition against higher quality opponents is necessary to assess whether England have progressed since Southgate’s departure as national team manager in 2024.

In Southgate’s tenure, England were criticised for being too negative and failing to utilise the qualities of best players in their best positions. 

Some early tactical shifts and a greater desire to press and harry opponents, as seen in the 3-0 Wales win, suggest England are likely to become a more forward-thinking side as Tuchel gains greater influence over his players.

Seeing this in practice against the top 10 sides would be a true reflection of England’s progress.