Tactically, then, I’m going back to Atlanta. England lead Argentina 1-0 in the World Cup semi-final. Thomas Tuchel switches to five defenders to hold the lead. Two Lionel Messi assists, two Argentina goals, and England finish third.
Five at the back. I never do that. The 4-4-2 is the only honest system, and on my pitch 2, with the slope, a fifth defender ends up in the opposition box by the twentieth minute anyway. Gravity does the pressing for me. A flat pitch away, mind you.
What spoke to me was what came next. Tuchel says he has held several meetings with his dressing room in recent days. He thinks the team needs more courage to play better. “To play better football, we need a little bit more of courage,” he said, according to HLN. And in his view, a group that wants to win a major tournament must be able to rely on control and possession, which England lacked late on against Argentina.
Several meetings. Me, I hold one, on Sunday at half past two, in the prefab, folder open and the mobile buzzing because someone is still in the car park. It lasts as long as it takes the club delegate to find the cards. Courage, I run that on Tuesday. When we’ve got eleven, that is.
On the pitch, the Nations League is already under way. At Wembley against Spain, England lead 2-1, Harry Kane misses a penalty, they are dominated for the last half hour and lose 2-3. On Saturday, 7-0 against Croatia, with one goal and three assists from Jude Bellingham. After the World Cup, Tuchel had also recalled Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Silly question, but does courage arrive between meetings or during them?
Me, I’d say during the post-match cone of chips. That’s when my players promise to press high next week.
It’s true, we checked: HLN.
