They walked in as if they were leaving. And leaving heavily defeated. England’s players did not wear the look of men who wanted to be here, Thomas Tuchel saying as much late on Friday night after arriving to heavy Floridian thunderstorms.
The dark clouds formed over his tenure following that midweek capitulation, Tuchel taking public responsibility in words only and as he claimed his part in what he described as the ‘blame game’.
Sat next to a prickly Tuchel, John Stones had appeared still close to tears as the manager continued to dissect Argentina 48 hours on. The look on the face of Stones spoke to a broken squad, hit by an unexpected bolt from the blue, with genuine optimism around camp that this time was different – rising with each passing victory, despite the patchy performances.
But here they were, trudging into the Hard Rock stadium rather than the MetLife. Not speaking, zombie-like, for a game that continues to baffle and has no place in the calendar – unless you beat European rivals, of course. Even Morgan Rogers, on the cusp of completing a British record £117million switch to Chelsea, linking up with close friend Cole Palmer, had that vacant thousand-yard stare.
Looks can be deceiving and what followed, an England that wanted the ball, that broke at pace, that demolished France before half-time, was surprising in the extreme. It makes you wonder about the wisdom of Argentina all over again. And then again once France rampaged back, mainly how and why the retreat happened as it did.
Part of the post-mortem came with Tuchel lamenting the ‘gap’ between this England team and the other three nations inside FIFA’s top four. He says they hoped to win this trophy, whereas the others expected to, and it is his job now to shift that mentality.
Thomas Tuchel wonders what might have been after victory over France in the third/fourth play-off
Declan Rice captained the side in the absence of Harry Kane
Winning this one-off fixture laid down something of a marker, a reference point moving forward, and Tuchel’s eagerness to win – and, in his own pointed words, secure a best-ever World Cup finish for six decades – saw him take risks on the fitness of some, notably the continued flogging of Declan Rice. Game 69 of the season.
Rice has been half-fit at best throughout this tournament, a hamstring complaint made worse by a severe bout of illness. He led the team out in the absence of Harry Kane and even though Rice was superb – scoring the first, his best display since Mexico – the real losers from the World Cup have undoubtedly been Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta cannot have been pleased with what he has seen over the past month. The three weeks’ worth of holiday that international stars are mandated to take will not be enough for Rice, who has seemed physically shot throughout the knockout stages.
And there is Bukayo Saka to worry about as well, another eyebrow-raising starter having not been able to contribute fully owing to an ongoing Achilles complaint. Saka, like Rice, was terrific in Miami and ended with an historic hat-trick. The pair of them underlined why they are so crucial to this England team and to their club, Saka scoring a double before the break.
Again: it made you wonder about Argentina. Saka sat on the bench all night. Tuchel said it was tactical.
Both looked fit but then again, looks can be deceiving. They are not.
Added to the fitness concerns of the England pair is the devastating injury to William Saliba, who will miss the majority of the first half of the season. This is their core and best attacking player. Defending the title is no easy feat and has now been made considerably harder before a ball has been kicked.
Arsenal’s Rice and Bukayo Saka have both been troubled by injuries but both started the play-off match
Arsenal centre-half William Saliba went down with a back injury during the World Cup which means he will miss a large part of next season
Under Pep Guardiola, Manchester City made a habit of offering star players significantly longer than the mandated three weeks off, reasoning that an extra break will make them fresher at the business end of the next campaign. And it worked a treat usually, although that would be to forget that when Guardiola first plotted to go back-to-back, in the summer of 2018, he called back Bernardo Silva early – breaking the rules – to make sure core members were ready for August.
Arteta will not have that option and must be praying that the time away settles the neural pain in Rice’s hamstring and that Saka’s Achilles troubles ease. In reality, the relentlessness of competition at the very highest level means that these guys only earn a rest when they’re retired. Or when something truly serious occurs. Rodri and countless others have found that to their cost.
So those of an Arsenal persuasion will query Tuchel’s decisions over the pair, in the humidity of Miami that took so much out of England as they went to extra-time against Norway last week.
Especially when seeing Kane and Jude Bellingham on the bench, watching much of the absurdity from the sidelines. It certainly doesn’t help Arteta before kicking off their defence against Coventry City in just over a month.
