Much will be made of the conditions when England board their flight from Kansas City to Mexico’s capital at the weekend. It will be the first test of what everybody feared beforehand, when the climate is out of Thomas Tuchel’s control and they face more than just stern opposition.
The heat or otherwise has not been much of a factor so far, two matches in air-conditioned stadiums and the others nowhere near the temperatures that were anticipated in the United States. Instead, England have made heavy weather for themselves.
Acclimatising to the altitude is going to represent such a huge task for this team – the Azteca 7,200 feet above sea level, oxygen levels 20 per cent lower than normal – but never mind that, an acclimatation to each other has not even been completed yet.
You cannot criticise them from a team ethic perspective. Anthony Gordon spoke emotively on that after Congo, that he had a feeling from the start of camp that this was a squad of men willing to do anything for their mates. That there are no ‘wasted sessions’, that he can tell others are prepared to go beyond the natural limits when required.
That is unquestioned. But a stumbling through the early games at this World Cup is not to do with collective spirit or desire: there are problems all over the park for Tuchel going into the last 16 against a buoyant co-host and it comes down to approach and ability.
As a sign of their difficulties at the moment, England were booed on at least four separate occasions by the Atlanta crowd, the vast majority made up of their own supporters, for overhit passes or poor control. Marcus Rashford, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka were the culprits.
The issues are stacking up for Thomas Tuchel despite England’s progression to the last 16
There is an ideal that Tuchel talks about but this version of his England has been far removed until now.
They do not hunt in packs and do not attack in units – especially in the wide areas. Countless times over the past fortnight has Noni Madueke beat a couple of men without being provided an option to progress possession from his full back. Over and over again. Madueke’s look of bemusement as Djed Spence refused to slip him down the line, arms out aghast, summed up a general lack of cohesion from the opening four games.
The full back. The right full back specifically. Tuchel has used four of those at this tournament now and only half of them can count it as their natural position. Trevoh Chalobah will prove a tough quiz question in years to come: who was the England player called up to replace Tino Livramento on the eve of a tournament, only then not to feature for a single minute despite a dearth of options in that role?
And yes, Chalobah wasn’t brought here as a full back. His inclusion freed up Jarell Quansah to act as an understudy on the right. But the whole thing appeared sub-optimal at the time and that feeling had yet to shake once Declan Rice shuffled back there late on against Congo to become the fourth incumbent of England’s No 2 spot.
While less than a perfect solution, that could be the way that England muddle through now if Reece James’ hamstring does not heal in time for Sunday. It potentially simultaneously fixes a couple of different issues.
Spence spent his afternoon being harangued by Tuchel, who after seeing the Tottenham man lose the ball in Congo’s final third, immediately called for Eberechi Eze in the sort of reaction that told you he had lost patience with the individual in question. Clearly, Spence’s display didn’t please the manager. Nor has his training.
Djed Spence felt the ire of the Three Lions head coach throughout the victory over DR Congo
Declan Rice playing at right back – as he did late on against DR Congo – is a possible solution for the clash with Mexico
Rice’s own day with Elliot Anderson had not been overly fruitful, either. Both have been taking on the job of a No 6 who occasionally breaks forward in America. Two screeners, in effect, yet England were still carved through by Congo in a way that critics had complained about with Bellingham in there against Panama.
These England’s midfielders are forever two yards shy of the scene. Perhaps it is not the personnel but the system in which they play, the ideas they are being drilled in.
Taking Rice – who insists he is fine despite requiring ice on his left hamstring and seeming fatigued – out of that equation might be beneficial in that case. Anderson certainly looked more certain in his own game towards the end, when England rallied and Eze drifted with Bellingham. Anderson then started pinging passes like a £116million midfielder.
The element of square pegs threatens to become a hallmark of this campaign, before even wondering why the central defensive pairing of Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi are failing to jive to such an extent that both looked nonplussed as Yoane Wissa almost doubled Congo’s lead after half time, nicking between the two of them to meet a cross. Or why whoever starts at left wing cannot impact a game. Or why the goalkeeper seems more erratic than normal.
It’s left for the hero moments, as Harry Kane calls them. The individuality. The bits where class tells but the bits no manager wants to rely on. England have endured too many tournaments on that alone and this was supposed to be different. A team with identity and a style. Injuries and fatigue are biting yet cannot be solely to blame.
All the talk will be of sea levels over the next four days before Mexico. In truth, England are barely keeping their heads above water.
