Tuchel ready to start fine-tuning Club England

They've qualified for the World Cup with two games to spare ... now the boss turns his mind to the challenge of winning it.

- Dom Smith

Sven-Göran Eriksson once wrote of the role of England manager that it “holds you hostage until it spits you out”. Asked to explain what he meant, England’s first foreign manager called it a job the incumbent never feels they can quit because of the scrutiny if they did — but still declared it the most “fantastic” job in world football, a “beautiful job”.

This is the precipice along which Thomas Tuchel walks. After fielding questions about absent players and drawing criticism for having a pop at the fans at Wembley, England's third foreign head coach, just 12 months since accepting the job, will know exactly what Eriksson meant.

The first, far easier, part of Tuchel's two-stage job is done. With two games to spare and without conceding a goal, Tuesday's 5-0 rout in Latvia saw England become the first European nation to qualify for next summer's World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Now the small matter of winning it. Tuchel is on an 18-month, £5million-a-year “win now” contract, hired to inherit the good stuff from Gareth Southgate (via caretaker boss Lee Carsley) and guide England over the line. But even if he manages it, it won't be without its snags along the way. While his team keep winning, you sense Tuchel is starting to get used to his every decision being placed under the microscope.

Omitting Jude Bellingham from this month’s squad invited scrutiny. Was he truthfully choosing to stick to last month's squad, or was this a performative message, Bellingham the fall guy as his manager made clear the functionality of the team as a whole is his only concern? Next month's ins and outs should clear that up.

Tuchel has been charming in the job, worn a glint in his eye, but is governing a cutthroat regime. Southgate’s eight years were defined by building a culture conducive to success, delivering tangible progress and some extremely near misses.