It was after the substitution of the former Liverpool captain that Thomas Tuchel’s side slipped in to individualism
T
he tendency is always to gloom. How could it not be? Nobody could have sat through England’s 1-0 win over Andorra on Saturday and not felt a profound sense of frustration. Six million years of human evolution has culminated in this? When the England manager shrugs and says he can’t blame the fans for booing, you know it was bad.
Thomas Tuchel was a short-term appointment. He’s not in the post for pathways or development or creating a culture. He’s here to win the World Cup next summer. In the boozy, drowsy somnolence of the RCDE Stadium, that felt a preposterous ambition. Look at England’s rivals.
Argentina are playing mesmerising football and top the Conmebol standing by 10 points. Spain were brilliant European champions having incorporated two young and devastating wide forwards into their passing carousel. France are pumping out teenagers of extraordinary technical quality by the bucketload to elevate the dour structures of Didier Deschamps. Portugal beat Germany in their Nations League semi-final last week, but both looked high-level sides. Even Brazil have finally accepted reality and turned to a foreign coach in Carlo Ancelotti. Everybody else knows what they’re doing and there’s witless old England struggling to make runs in behind against Andorra.
