Thomas Tuchel is a famous coach with his talent for controlling chaos in the team. Over the years, the German strategist has shown his ability to do this very well many times, especially in the 2021 Champions League campaign. However, the successful season 5 years ago with Chelsea also could not have dramatic turns like the confrontation with Mexico at the Azteca stadium.
It is not yet known how far the England team will go at the 2026 World Cup, but the victory over Mexico in the round of 16 deserves to be the best performance of the "Three Lions" in a decade. They have to play with one less player early, facing the home team that has never lost in World Cup history every time they play at the Azteca stadium. Besides, the pressure from tens of thousands of Mexican fans is a not small challenge for Harry Kane and his teammates.
After Jarell Quansah received a red card, Thomas Tuchel's first reaction was to put another defender on the field to ensure the defensive game. John Stones came on to replace Bukayo Saka. At that time, the "Three Lions" played with a 4-3-2 formation with Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon playing highest in the attack.
To limit the disadvantage of being short of players, Tuchel asked his players to play long balls more to stretch the opponent's system. Many times Anthony Gordon received the ball from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford himself. With his breakthrough dribbling ability and excellent speed, the Barcelona newcomer forced the Mexican goalkeeper to foul after running to receive Harry Kane's pass.
After leading 3-1 and then letting the opponent narrow the gap to 3-2, Tuchel felt that he needed to have more certainty to avoid "easy as glue". He immediately put tall center-back Dan Burn on the field along with Djed Spence to strengthen muscles and aerial ability. Dan Burn replaced Elliot Anderson and the England team was considered to be playing with a 5-4-0 formation. Only when Kane attacked was it converted to 5-3-1.
Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon were asked to stick closer to both wings to support the wing-back pair. They did quite well on the task. When this pair was overtaken and Mexico made a cross, Dan Burn supported the defense system very well thanks to his superior physique (2.01m tall).
With these changes, Tuchel helped the England team stand firm in the context that the home team brought all the attacking stars with abundant fitness onto the field.
Jordan Pickford cannot be ignored. On an excellent day as usual, he had many saves, accurate exits and controlled the defense smoothly.
The bravery and steel spirit of the England team is shown through their defense but also does not deny the very important goals before that.
When under great pressure from the home team in the first minutes of the first half, Jude Bellingham only needed 2 minutes to score 2 goals to the surprise of all members of the Mexican team. When facing a penalty in the second half, Harry Kane did not make any mistakes with a thunderous finish. They were the brightest stars of the "Three Lions" and knew how to shine at the right time.
In front of Tuchel and his students is Norway after the Northern European representative defeated Brazil to advance to the quarterfinals. In the last 4 matches against this opponent, England has not lost but all are friendly matches. Norway possesses outstanding Erling Haaland, so Tuchel really needs the experience of Premier League stars who have faced this genius to hope to minimize the opponent's strength.
Norway has Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa, Sorloth... many stars with more names than Mexico. This will be the most difficult challenge for England since the beginning of the 2026 World Cup campaign.
