Thomas Tuchel has spoken a lot about his NFL-style ‘special team’, a unit of attacking reinforcements deployed when chasing a game. What he has failed to mention is the need to parachute in such specialists in defence, and that is why England will ultimately land on thorny ground here in North America.
The logic behind his offensive assembly is sound. Between Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins there is a cocktail of chaos and composure to find a goal when needed. Even Dan Burn, a centre back, is part of Tuchel’s blue-light brigade.
But what happens if England have something to protect? That is when the omission of Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire, at the expense of Djed Spence and Jarrell Quansah, starts to feel like a miscalculation.
Tuchel’s reserve full backs, Spence and Tino Livramento, are better and more comfortable on the front foot than back. If anything, you would bring them on when chasing a goal. So, who comes into the backline at 1-0 up when trying to close out a knockout tie? Shaw and Maguire, with a century of caps and seven major tournaments between them, have the experience and defence-first mindset to lead such a resistance. They have just enjoyed strong, low-mileage seasons with Manchester United. They have form and fitness on their side.
Alas, they are not here, and their absence leaves the defence looking like a point of weakness over the course of 90 minutes, or longer, against the very best opposition.
It was Maguire who put his body on the line in injury-time to preserve a 1-1 draw against Uruguay at Wembley in March. A single incident, yes, but that last-action quality, you suspect, is not necessarily present in all of those included in the World Cup squad – that want to embrace the ugly stuff.
Thomas Tuchel has got all the tools to rescue matches at the World Cup – but not for surviving them
Leaving Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw at home seems a miscalculation by the England boss
John Stones is the senior member but he was always the silk to Maguire’s steel. However, if fit, he will likely start, meaning his composure as a fresh presence from the bench, amid the panic of a slender advantage, will be lost.
As for Shaw, it was to him that Gareth Southgate turned for security – when the defender was finally fit – in the second half of the semi-final against Netherlands at Euro 2024. One respected pundit said it was fitness concerns that meant Shaw could not be involved this time, overlooking the fact he played every game for United in the Premier League this season.
The point is this – Tuchel’s defence does not contain enough defenders. Total number of tackles made by Stones in the league this season? One. Nico O’Reilly will start at left back but has spent much of this campaign in midfield. Reece James, at right back, is another whose instinct is as much offensive, as good as he can be when fit. Marc Guehi will be the first pick in the back four and he, like Stones, is a defender from the school of prevention as opposed to cure.
But in a latter-stage knockout against Spain, France, Brazil or Argentina, there will be a period of desperation when England need to block, kick, tackle and head. Have they really got enough snarl, cynicism and nous, either from the off or in reserve? Burn is the closest to that human blockade of a defensive special-team tactic. Beyond him, maybe dropping Declan Rice into the backline could be explored – he at least has the personality for such a mission.
At the other end, the depth and variation of options is far greater. Watkins arrives here from his March snub as a Europa League winner and one of the continent’s most in-form strikers. Forget, too, the notion that Toney won’t have match sharpness because he plays in Saudi Arabia. He does not need it – not when his contribution will be confined to targeted interventions over brief timeframes.
It feels like Tuchel’s offensive playbook has an alternative route for every roadblock, and great thought has been given to those permutations, even if all of it relies on Harry Kane avoiding any misfortune or deterioration. England might not breeze through the group, but they will find a way, just as they will in the early second-stage games.
But to go all the way and win a World Cup, or even make the final? Sadly, for all the talk of special teams, the special ingredients needed to combat special talents like Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Kylian Mbappe simply aren’t there.
Tuchel has arrived with all the tools to rescue matches, but not for surviving them. As they say here in the United States – ‘Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships’.
