Tuchel’s England: Time to shine or face scrutiny?

ENGLAND return to World Cup qualifying action this week with Thomas Tuchel under pressure to solve a plethora of issues that threaten to ruin his bid to win next year’s tournament.

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Tuchel has made an underwhelming start to his reign and the German must use qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia to resolve the problems that marred his first four games.

AFP Sport looks at the most pressing topics ahead of today’s clash with Andorra at Villa Park:

Lift the gloom

England sit top of Group K with three wins from three games, six goals scored and none conceded - — but appearances can be deceptive.

Tuchel’s side laboured to a 2-0 win against Albania in his first match in March and needed two second-half goals to put a flattering gloss on a 3-0 victory over Latvia.

The sight of England labouring to a 1-0 win over minnows Andorra in June was alarming for Tuchel, but there was even worse to come as the Three Lions finished their summer schedule with a dismal 3-1 defeat against Senegal in a friendly in Nottingham.

England’s first loss to an African side provoked a scathing response from angry fans frustrated by the team’s lethargic display.

It was a far cry from Tuchel’s bold claim that he wanted his team to play an attacking style that would cast off the caution showed by his predecessor Gareth Southgate.