Thomas Tuchel’s Tactical Revolution: How Will New-Look England Play? ...Middle East

Thomas Tuchel takes charge of his first England game on Friday. Ahead of that match, we assess how the German wants his new team to play.

A new era begins for England on Friday as the Three Lions host Albania at Wembley in their opening World Cup 2026 qualifier, and what will also be Thomas Tuchel’s first match as head coach more than five months after he was officially appointed.

As is always the case when there’s a change of manager, the uncharted territory brings with it uncertainty and questions. We know what the squad is, so we needn’t dwell and speculate on that aspect any further, but intrigue remains around how England will play.

The playing style of the English men’s national team has been a hot topic for a long, long time. From frustration around the dull, unimaginative football played by the likes of Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson to, well, frustration around the dull and unimaginative football played under Gareth Southgate…

No, admittedly that’s a harsh assessment of Southgate’s time in charge. While the fanbase undoubtedly grew tired of what became a somewhat monotonous brand of football, he clearly restored pride in the national team and reached heights the vast majority (well, all but Sir Alf Ramsey) of his predecessors didn’t get close to.

The possession-focused style of play England became associated with under Southgate did ultimately become a stick to beat the manager with, though. Increasingly, it was felt they struggled to turn control into a meaningful threat, and while they did go as far as the final at Euro 2024, they had some lucky escapes along the way and the football wasn’t particularly inspiring considering it was arguably the most talented England squad at a major tournament since 1966.

That being said, Southgate transformed the image and culture of the team. When he was announced as successor to the ill-fated Sam Allardyce, the men’s national team was defined by underachievement and there was little sign of a genuine identity.

Whether or not you liked the football they played, Southgate undoubtedly changed that.

The graphic below shows the evolution of England’s playing style in major tournaments since the 2006 World Cup. It doesn’t necessarily explicitly highlight “identities”, granted, but there’s a clear trend through Southgate’s time at the helm as they progressively became more intricate and less direct; this essentially reflects a focus on possession dominance.

The next graphic also shows something similar.

Of course, it’s not like Southgate is the first England manager to ever see his team dominate the ball in a game. Capello’s Three Lions enjoyed an average possession share of 58.6% in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, and as the above graphic shows, Roy Hodgson’s side saw a lot of the ball at Euro 2016. The difference is the level of opposition they’re now comfortable controlling possession against.

For instance, the marker for Hodgson’s Euro 2016 team in that graphic is massively influenced by the 68% possession they had in the infamous defeat to Iceland.

Whereas, in the Euro 2024 semi-final win over the Netherlands, England had just shy of 60% of the ball. They obviously weren’t the best Dutch side ever, but they still got to the last four, had a very capable squad and manager, and were comfortably the strongest opposition England had faced up to that point. Furthermore, England also had 57.2% possession in the unfortunate 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.

Southgate set his stall out in his first press conference after getting the job permanently in November 2016, pointing out he likes his teams “to have a lot of possession”, and so he broadly succeeded in implementing that way of playing.

But could that ever truly be considered the team’s “identity”?

Southgate clearly did a fine job, and developing the way England play was part of that, but when they came up against more traditional exponents of similar philosophy, the Three Lions were often made to look like cheap tribute acts.

In the Euro 2020 final (played in 2021) against Italy, Southgate’s men had just 34.6% of the ball. In the Euro 2024 final against Spain, they had only marginally more of it (34.9%), even with Rodri being unable to play in the second half.

It’s a situation that’s not lost on Tuchel.

“I think we should be brave enough to play like an England squad and should not try to copy other nations, other styles too much,” he told reporters in a press conference on Monday.

The comment almost certainly wasn’t intended as a direct dig at Southgate. However, it was impossible to not read between the lines given the significance of possession football under the previous regime and how that style hasn’t been traditionally associated with the England men’s national team.

So, what does he want his England team to look like?

While Tuchel’s teams have often been comfortable with plenty of possession, that’s generally been more reflective of those clubs’ respective status rather than an obvious determination to keep the ball.

As the graphic below shows, none of his teams going back as far as 2016 stray that close to the “slow and intricate” label, evidence of there being a greater emphasis on moving the ball upfield quicker than say Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City would.

“It needs to reflect the Premier League,” he said. “The Premier League is a very physical league; a very physical, demanding league. It’s a very direct league. I think it should reflect the values of the country and of the strongest league in the world, which is the Premier League.

“So, we will try to implement a direct style, an attacking style, and we will try to increase the rhythm in our game, increase the intensity in our game. And we will try to do it of course in a crash course and unleash the potential for Friday.”

Some might be quick to jump on those comments and point out the Premier League has effectively become the de facto home of possession football since Guardiola’s arrival at Man City in 2016. It’s something we’ve seen across Europe, but the proliferation of teams passing out from the back reflects an especially considerable change in England’s top flight, as documented below.

It’d also be fair to say there are still those who feel ball retention is vital to success, which is why we are seeing more and more teams trying to play possession football straight after being promoted from the Championship.

But it could be argued that the smartest teams, those who’ve sprung surprises in the Premier League in recent years, have actually moved away from trying to dominate the ball. Instead, there’s a growing trend of clubs prioritising effectiveness in transition, getting the ball forward quickly as opposed to being considered and methodical.

Newcastle and Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League against the odds in the past two years playing in similar ways; both are also in the hunt this season, while Nottingham Forest – who narrowly avoided relegation last term – astonishingly have a tight grip on third place thanks in part to their devastatingly effective fast and direct philosophy.

Those three certainly aren’t the only sides who’ve come to be associated with such a way of playing. Manchester United, Bournemouth, Brighton and Liverpool have all at times in the past couple of years (or longer in the case of the Premier League leaders) been closer to that category than the one you’d put Man City and Tottenham in, for example.

There are clues in the numbers, too. The Premier League averaged 10.71 transitions reaching the penalty area – when a team reaches the 18-yard box against a transitioning defence – per game in 2020-21, but that’s steadily increased to 12.16 and 12.14 in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively.

Similarly, the Premier League is averaging 1.84 shot-ending fast breaks – quick counter-attacks starting from the defensive half with the opposition’s defence at least partly unsorted – per game in 2024-25, which is the most on record (since 2006-07). Compare that to 2016-17, when there were 0.38 shot-ending fast breaks per game.

Of course, all teams have their own idiosyncrasies, whether that’s the individual players or nuances in tactical systems, but broadly speaking, Tuchel seems to be suggesting he’ll do away with possession for possession’s sake.

This doesn’t mean England are suddenly going to be looking to play on the counter-attack against teams like Albania, nor does it mean they’ll be sitting back, but Tuchel seemingly feels there’s a mismatch between a possession-focused style and the players or their cultures.

“Watching the Euros, I felt tension and pressure on the shoulders of the players, and they were playing not to lose,” he said in Thursday’s pre-match press conference.

“We want to implement the togetherness and joy, and for everyone to feel safe to express themselves and give their very best. We want to play with a hunger and a joy to win, and not with the fear to lose.

“Anything can happen in football, we know this. But the focus is on winning [by having] a higher number of touches in the opponent’s box, higher amount of attacks, higher amount of high ball recoveries.”

Many England fans will be numb to the manager’s words. That’s what decades of misplaced optimism and hope can do to you.

But for those who just want to see a bit of excitement on the pitch, Tuchel’s comments will be music to their ears.

Now he just has to prove he has the ability to turn his ambitions into reality.

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Thomas Tuchel’s Tactical Revolution: How Will New-Look England Play? Opta Analyst.

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