Thomas Tuchel’s England beat Latvia 3-0 in a World Cup qualifier at the Wembley Stadium on Monday, March 24. Reece James, Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze scored for the Three Lions to earn them a second successive win.
England had earlier beaten Albania 2-0 in their first match under Tuchel.
With the FIFA World Cup in 2026 almost 15 months away, the 53-year-old German has his task cut out.
Nothing short of winning the tournament is going to satisfy the English supporters, as the Three Lions have gone close to winning one under Gareth Southgate several times.
Big Calls Ahead: How Tuchel Must Tweak His Starting XI for Success
He has already made a decision by putting Phil Foden on the bench against Latvia after the latter came up with yet another unimpressive performance against Albania.
The decision to have Harry Kane as the No. 9 has been vindicated, as the 31-year-old striker has scored a goal each in England’s last two matches.
However, that does not mean that Kane’s form is guaranteed to be good when the World Cup begins in 2026.
Kane will be almost 33 by then and should be past his best. If Kane has a plan to use Dominic Solanke or Ollie Watkins in the World Cup, he has to prepare themselves in advance by giving them enough international exposure.
Then, there is the eternal problem as to which formation he should choose his team to play with.
Tuchel is currently playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation, which accommodates Jude Bellingham as the No. 10.
However, should he choose to give Foden an opportunity as well in the centre of the midfield, he will have to opt for a 3-2-4-1 formation.
That will mean playing Marcus Rashford or Anthony Gordon as the left winger and Bukayo Saka as the right winger.
England made the change from a back-four to a back-three during the European Championships in 2024 as well.
However, should Tuchel decide to opt for a 3-5-2 or a 3-5-1-1 formation to play Foden just off the main striker, then he will have to play Saka as the left wing-back, giving the Englishman an opportunity to utilize his left foot to play the crosses. In that scenario, he will have to play someone like Kieran Trippier as the right wing-back.
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No Time to Waste
Tuchel will have to finalise on his playing XI by using all the above permutations and combinations within the next year or so.
England also have Andorra, Serbia and Wales in their qualifying group and will play their next set of World Cup qualifiers in June, September, October and November this year.
Besides these fixtures, they will also play an international friendly against Senegal in June.
What combinations will Tuchel come up with in those matches? The pressure will be on him firmly, but the German has delivered under it while managing in club football in the past.
Therefore, there is no reason why he cannot do it again, this time as the manager of the Three Lions.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sportimage
Recording Date: 24.03.2025