Tuchel: On the Ball, We Were a Danger to Ourselves

England boss Thomas Tuchel has played down concerns over his side defensively after their 3-2 defeat to Spain, insisting the problems were all about possession, not the shape behind the ball. The Three Lions conceded nine goals in their last three games, and Tuchel says the issue is simple: his team keeps losing the ball and turning those losses into goals against them.

Tuchel’s defence of the defence

Tuchel’s side went the whole of the World Cup qualifying campaign without conceding, but have now let in nine from their last three internationals against Argentina, France and Spain. He acknowledges the mistakes, but he puts them in the right box.

“It’s not a concern yet,” Tuchel said ahead of England’s second Nations League game against Czech Republic on Tuesday. “I felt that in terms of organised defending, block defending and active defending, we were at a higher level than in many other matches.”

He broke down what he saw: “If you want to look at it in isolation on how we did within the structure and in the units of the sides, I was quite happy and I think it was a step ahead. We suffered clearly from individual mistakes when we had the ball, especially in the deep build-up, so that is of course something we cannot repeat. Not at this level.”

Then came the line that sums up the whole approach: “Strangely enough, when we had the ball, we were the biggest danger to ourselves around the box because we just had too many individual mistakes. Purely in defending, I have no concerns and I trust that we can do it.”

The mistakes that cost England

Spain scored three times through Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal. Tuchel’s assessment of the game was that England created the chances that turned into goals against them.

“I think there was a lot of discussion about this before [the Spain game],” Tuchel stated. “I think we showed our style and we showed our courage. The players showed an identity and they showed it throughout the 90 minutes.”

He also noted the balance of the contest: “We gave them a lot of problems. We caused ourselves some problems with individual mistakes. Mistakes can sometimes happen. They shouldn’t, but they did happen. We had the world and European champions on the edge of a defeat.”

He added: “In the decisive moments we played our best football. We kept attacking when we were a goal ahead. We were even more dominant and more of a threat.”

Self-inflicted damage

Tuchel’s argument is that England’s issues are not structural. They are about decision-making with the ball. He wants the team to stop making the errors that turn possession into giveaways.

“We were a little bit self-responsible for the break in momentum towards the end of the match. But overall we have a lot of positives to take away.”

The numbers behind the record

England’s nine goals conceded in three games is a stark contrast to their qualifying run. Here is how the two periods compare:

What comes next

England play Czech Republic on Tuesday at 7.45pm, then face Croatia on Saturday at 5pm, and finish the group with another fixture against Czech Republic on Tuesday October 6 at 7.45pm.

The context of the criticism

Tuchel’s comments come off the back of widespread criticism of his tactics during England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, where he opted to defend a one-goal lead rather than look to extend his advantage.

The German responded by hitting out at the ‘DNA’ of English players. “I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in Spanish DNA or in Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball,” he said following their exit.

That raised scrutiny over England’s footballing identity, but Tuchel believed his players showcased exactly that in the defeat to Luis de la Fuente’s side at Wembley.

Reading Tuchel’s position

Tuchel’s message is consistent: the problem is not the system, it is the execution. He trusts his players to defend, but he is worried about what happens when they have the ball.

His line that England were “a danger to ourselves” when they had the ball is a cheerful admission that his team keeps losing possession and turning it into goals against them. It is a funny way of saying the mistakes are their own doing.

The next test

The next three weeks will show whether the problems are fixable or systemic. England have nine goals against them in three games, and Tuesday’s match against Czech Republic will be the next test of whether the possession issues have been addressed.

See the video the story is built around at Sky Sports.

Defence · England · Nations League · Spain · Tuchel