Thomas Tuchel has won 20 of his 26 games as England manager, yet after the World Cup he sounded unsure when asked whether he had seen his version of this team over the summer. Fair enough. England found ways to win in North America, but they leaned on moments of individual brilliance more than on a system doing the work. The international break just finished suggests the system is now being rebuilt around a few clear ideas.
BBC Sport's tactics correspondent Umir Irfan has gone through the games against Croatia and the Czech Republic, and the picture he paints is of refinement rather than revolution. Tuchel, 53, is tightening a blueprint he already had. Here is what has actually changed.
Four players in the build-up, not three
At the World Cup, England started attacks with two centre-backs and a holding midfielder. Against pressing teams, that was a small group to ask for a lot. The new version commits a fourth player to the job, so two central defenders and two central midfielders now share the work of playing out from the back, shifting between a 2-2 and a 3-1 shape depending on where the pressure comes from.
Tuchel has been full of praise for Bournemouth's Alex Scott, who took turns with Myles Lewis-Skelly alongside Elliot Anderson in midfield while Declan Rice was missing. The benefit shows up in Anderson's game. Instead of sitting alone at the base of midfield, he can drop in beside Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa, receive the ball facing forward and pick the quick pass to the attackers. That pass is what England want from him.
Overloading the left to open the right
The old attacking pattern was the wide triangle: full-back, winger and central midfielder moving constantly to lose their markers. It created chances, but opponents learned to match England three against three, particularly once legs tired. The current approach uses a 3-1-3-3 shape in possession and is far more willing to be lopsided. A wide centre-back, a full-back, a winger, the number ten and often a striker or holding midfielder all crowd the left, pulling the opposition across, before the ball is switched to a team-mate in space on the other side.
Defensively it pays off as well. More bodies near the ball means England can counter-press harder when they lose it, and Tuchel said as much, describing the extra intensity on the ball as the next step. Lewis Hall has stood out in the left-sided role, hugging the touchline and letting Anthony Gordon drift inside. Gordon spent much of the World Cup glued to the line. Now he starts wide but attacks the middle, and his runs off Harry Kane's deep movement have been the neatest link in the side.
The right-sided puzzle and Trent Alexander-Arnold
The right is where Tuchel still has a decision to make. Bukayo Saka and Morgan Rogers have been making similar narrow runs on that side, and Alexander-Arnold, who started against the Czech Republic, held a wide position that left Saka playing almost permanently from inside. Against Croatia the Real Madrid man was dropped for Jarrell Quansah, and Quansah's job was to run beyond his winger again and again.
Tuchel was blunt about why. He called Alexander-Arnold a unique player but not a runner, and not someone who attacks the last line with overlaps and underlaps. What he wants from Saka and Alexander-Arnold together is less static movement. The BBC notes that Alexander-Arnold's passing across both games caught the eye and that his off-ball work showed promising signs, but for Tuchel certain principles outrank form.
One idea sums up England 2.0
If Tuchel's England had to be explained in a phrase, it would be runs off the ball. England used to be accused of being a team of world-class individuals without a system. Tuchel is trying to hand them one, and the message to the squad is that the system is allowed to evolve but each player has to convince him of his place in it.
Context: Thomas Tuchel, 53, has won 20 of 26 games in charge of England. Recent shape: 3-1-3-3 in possession with an overload on the left. Players discussed: Elliot Anderson, Alex Scott, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Lewis Hall, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarrell Quansah. Source: BBC Sport tactical analysis, 7 October 2026.
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