He must be sacked
One thing that has confused many England fans is why we cannot keep hold of the ball and control the midfield. With a midfield that costs over £400 million, England still cannot play the way Spain and France do, and that is quite alarming. During this World Cup, England has not played well. They have done well to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, but it should not be like this. Given the depth of the squad, England should be controlling games and making their opponents work hard to win the ball back. Instead, it is the opposite: their opponents are controlling matches and making a squad worth over £3 trillion look like a Sunday League team.
This story is nothing new; it is the same in every tournament. Quite frankly, England fans are getting sick of it. The football is poor, and tactically, the players often look as though they do not know what they are doing. In the past, fans could blame the players and say they did not put in the same effort as they did for their respective clubs. That has not been the case in recent tournaments. Instead, England continues to appoint managers who play pragmatic, boring football and fail to get the best out of the players by not playing to their strengths.
Sacking Southgate was the right decision, but appointing Tuchel was the wrong one. He was sacked by Chelsea after failing to secure a Champions League place, yet winning the Champions League with Chelsea apparently made him a good tournament manager overnight. That is a flawed argument because his style of play is one of the main reasons England exited the World Cup. His defensive approach has always been a defining feature of his tactics, and he has employed the same style throughout his managerial career, including at Chelsea. Tuchel is not a manager capable of playing progressive, tactical football, and that was evident in both the players he selected for the World Cup and the key players he left at home.
It suggests that he prefers players who simply follow his instructions. Not playing Mainoo was a huge mistake, and he deserves heavy criticism for that decision. Mainoo would have helped England retain possession against Argentina and progressed the ball far more effectively. Many people recognise that Declan Rice and Elliott Anderson have similar playing styles, and neither offers the progressive passing England lacked.
Tuchel should be sacked after claiming that it is not in England’s DNA to play possession-based football. It is the manager’s responsibility to implement a style of play and select the right starting XI to execute it. What does seem to be in England’s DNA is the FA allowing managers to make absurd statements like that without facing any real accountability. Choosing to sit deep and play negative football with 35 minutes remaining against Messi was both foolish and unnecessary.
If Tuchel remains in charge until Euro 2028, the outcome is likely to be the same, and also the FA should not offer him a contract extension before the tournament begins. What England needs is a manager with tactical intelligence, conviction, and the courage to play on the front foot; someone like Pep Guardiola, who understands English football, would select the right team to compete and make intelligent tactical decisions during matches. Tuchel should be sacked without question.
