Rebuild with clock ticking to World Cup is a gamble

By John Cross

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AS the dust settled on an international break that did not go to plan, Thomas Tuchel admitted his England squad were missing something.

If you looked at the performances against Andorra and Senegal, you would probably argue they are missing quite a lot.

Tuchel has even reined back his claim when he took over that England will win the World Cup, now simply saying they are in the mix.

The clock is ticking, with the tournament in the United States starting in a year’s time on June 11 — and that is why it is so surprising the England manager has ripped everything up and started again.

Tuchel began with a 4-4-2 formation against Senegal and the players looked as if they were unfamiliar with the system, and could not get to grips with the tactics. It also did not get the best out of Harry Kane or Bukayo Saka.