SMART CAR

Lee's case to succeed Tuchel hard for FA to ignore

- BY ANDY DUNN Chief Sports Writer X@andydunnmirro

HAVING got a couple of deeply underwhelming performances out of the way in early June, Thomas Tuchel's summer is not likely to be overly busy.

Apparently, he will be at the Club World Cup he might already be there to assess conditions in the United States ahead of next summer's serious tournament.

It's hot, Thomas.

But if England's under-21 squad overcomes the Netherlands and make it to the final of the Euros, Tuchel will, hopefully, be in Bratislava to see it. If nothing else, for a show of support.

Considering he is a gun hired for 18 months, development teams are of limited concern to Tuchel. One or two of the under-21 party in the semi-final will have a chance of making it to World Cup 2026 - Tino Livramento (below) the prime candidate but the bulk of Tuchel's squad for next summer is probably already settled.

Get your suitcase packed, Jordan Henderson.

But the work that is being done - and has been done - by Lee Carsley has been invaluable to the long-term future of the English national team.

There are two formidable barriers for the under-21s to hurdle but a second successive major tournament triumph would be a remarkable achievement.