Thomas Tuchel has been back around the Premier League grounds this season and it is worth dwelling on one particular interaction he had with a colleague inside a VIP enclosure, which has doubtless been repeated elsewhere. “People are killing me,” the England manager said. At which point he might have added: Still.
It is two months since England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina in the United States and the emotion tied up in it continues to swirl. Heartbreak, pain, frustration; everything in this kind of area has touched everybody with an investment in the team. It was a result to leave scars that may never heal.
Then things begin to diverge because on one hand there is an anger among a section of the fanbase – those who have struggled to make their peace with a glorious opportunity spurned. They lay the blame for the surrender of a 1-0 lead with five minutes to go at Tuchel’s door.
On the other, there is an appreciation of how Tuchel’s team fought to reach the semi-finals for only the fourth time in England’s history; the personality they showed; the stirring moments along the way, chiefly the last-16 win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
It was not nothing to dig deep and find a way past Norway in the quarter-finals after extra-time. The victory over Croatia in the opening group game was a thriller. When England beat France in the third-place playoff, it added up to a best World Cup finish since 1966.
It is difficult to quantify the number of haters. Just as it is those who have retained a sense of perspective. Both groups co-exist and Tuchel has been affected rather more by the former. He remains bruised by the fallout from the World Cup; bemused, too, because it is not as if England reach the semi-finals as a matter of course.
It is the tension that tracks Tuchel as he prepares for his next cycle in charge, running up to the Euro 2028 finals when England will be co-hosts. On Friday, he names his squad for the opening four Nations League ties, against Spain (home), Czechia (home and away) and Croatia (away).
Tuchel wants to look forward. As does the Football Association. He would do well to move on from the criticism of the Argentina defeat, however over-the-top he thought it was, however much it coloured the view of what he achieved at the tournament.
There is a reason why the England job has been described as impossible. It is because of the overbearing levels of expectation, how hard it is to dodge the recriminations after defeat, how the reactions make it more difficult for the team moving forward. It is a vicious circle that will be broken one way. Better not to overanalyse it. Just to accept it.
Tuchel can draw strength from the FA’s faith in him. Perhaps the best way to illustrate it is that it would not have wanted to get rid of him had England lost to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 32. That went down as one of the most stressful England games in memory, the team 1-0 down with 15 minutes to go, even Tuchel wondering whether it was the end of his tournament before Harry Kane’s two goals drove the comeback. The captain deserves the Ballon d’Or purely for staving off an Iceland 2016-style disaster.
The FA loved how Tuchel’s in-game changes made the difference, as they did at other stages of the World Cup. It loved the team spirit he oversaw. Tuchel has spoken a good deal about the brotherhood among his players. It was real, not something for the cameras. The FA has set great store by this. Quite simply, it stands full square behind Tuchel. It considers the notion that he ought to have resigned or been sacked after a semi-final finish as absurd.
Tuchel’s stated mission at the World Cup was to put a second star on the shirt and he fell short. Did his death-or-glory rhetoric, which he did row back on slightly during the tournament, make the end worse? Then again, it was surely preferable to aim for glory. How would people have felt if he said the quarters or semis would have been fine?
England were the fourth seeds and, privately, the FA worried that punching above their ranking and winning the tournament would be beyond them, especially after the draw. It gave England the latest possible start and a long gap between their first and second group matches, followed by a more condensed schedule.
It was always going to be brutally challenging with the travel and heat. There is genuine optimism about the Euros, particularly as it is in effect a home tournament. The FA pushed hard to be a host alongside Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland for a reason.
Can England as a nation move on from the Argentina defeat? Can Tuchel’s explanations for his moves during it be accepted? It feels like an important starting point for the campaign ahead.
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Tuchel could not get anything out of his players in the second half as Argentina dialled up all-out fury mode, and that is on him. England, though, were physically spent, a consequence of playing at altitude against Mexico with 10 men and for 120 minutes against Norway in Miami in 40C heat.
England started to sink back long before the second-half hydration break when Tuchel introduced the defender Ezri Konsa for the winger Anthony Gordon and went to a five-man defence. They were well into grim survival football. Tuchel could do nothing to change the flow, to get his players on the ball. Again that is on him.
The decision to reinforce the defence, to double down, was a clinical one, taken after considering the available evidence. To Tuchel, it felt like the percentage call, maybe the least bad option. It failed. And when it failed, the optics were horrible. Would more positive changes have led to a better outcome? It is hard to say. The bottom line was that England were well beaten.
It is time to look forward and it is a good thing that England are back in Nations League Group A with testing fixtures, none more so than the opener against Spain at Wembley next Saturday.
It was damaging – more so than the FA realised – to be in Group B last time and have more straightforward matches against Ireland, Finland and Greece (even if Greece at Wembley was not straightforward, England losing 2-1). Neither was the World Cup qualification group too taxing. The hope is the Nations League will better prepare England for the Euros.
Tuchel has numerous selection teasers for his squad as he contends with the probable absence of four of his World Cup players through injury: John Stones, Dan Burn, Djed Spence and Jordan Henderson. Tino Livramento, Levi Colwill, Jarrad Branthwaite and Lewis Hall are pushing for recalls in defence.
Does Kobbie Mainoo keep his place in midfield after his washout of a World Cup? He has been good for Manchester United despite their poor start. Alex Scott and Myles Lewis-Skelly are hoping for recalls. As are Cole Palmer and Phil Foden in the No 10 positions. Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have not restarted well at Arsenal. There is a lot of energy around Josh King and Ryo Ngumoha. Ditto Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Liam Delap.
All eyes will be on Tuchel at the announcement and his tone, as much as anything, will be instructive. Being overly defensive did not work out the last time.