In his coaching career so far, Thomas Tuchel's success has come relatively quickly.
He won the Champions League with Chelsea, spent 2 years leading superstars at Paris St Germain and conquered the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
However, if Tuchel wants to add the World Cup title with England to his flashy CV, it could take a long time.
The 51-year-old strategist is on a long and winding road to the 2026 World Cup next year. Moreover, he will not have time for a second chance.
The "Three Lions" won 3-0 against Latvia at Wembley to continue to give Tuchel a smooth start. A few days earlier, they also defeated Albania 2-0 at home. Of course, these are not surprising results as Group K of England in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe is relatively easy.
But when paper airplanes fell into Wembley in the 12th minute in a quiet atmosphere, Tuchel must have discovered the brutal reality of his new job.
The easy victory over much weaker opponents has made England fans bored. To the point, the biggest cheer, in addition to celebrating the goal, was when one of the paper airplanes fell onto the ground.
Tuchel signed for England in October last year with a specific goal: winning the 2026 World Cup. The German has proven his ability in the prestigious club tournament, the Champions League.
But the World Cup is still something different. Lionel Messi's endless joy after winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina showed that.
Tuchel's toughest opponent from now until the 2026 World Cup kicks off in June next year could be disappointment, even boredom. Why? He was unlikely to test himself and his players until the World Cup really started.
For a strict coach like Tuchel, England's easy path to the World Cup is not a good thing. His coaching career is defined by the intensity and ability to make decisive changes in the match in terms of personnel and tactics.
easy victories over Albania and Latvia did not require any outstanding features of Tuchel. Both games saw the "Three Lions" defend deep to avoid a heavy defeat.
This is not Premier League football like two teams trying to win, or a test of the quality and strategy of the Champions League.
Tuchel admitted before the match against Latvia that he was still in the process of adapting to international football after a long career at the club.
"I need to adapt to the rhythm of international football. The challenge is to prepare for 3 days with 20 players from 10 or 12 different clubs. I'm not patient with that problem, but I will learn and motivate the players," Tuchel said.
England's failure to feature in Nations League A means they will not have the opportunity to test against other big teams in the region. Instead, Tuchel's side will only face one side in 65th place in the FIFA rankings (albania) and one side in 140th place ( Latvia). Meanwhile, England are ranked 4th.
Serbia is England's highest rated opponent in Group K, in 32nd place. In between the friendly match with Senegal, England will have 2 consecutive matches with Andorra, ranked team 171.
The English Football Association (FA) has said Tuchel should have 15 games before the 2026 World Cup starts. And the victory over Latvia was their second match. But it will be at least next March before the FA can arrange a friendly against a team capable of testing Tuchel and his players.
Tuchel needs to show patience, which he admits is not one of his strongest qualities. The FA hired Tuchel to make a difference in the key preparation period for the World Cup, when his abilities needed to be promoted.
However, as he waited 75 days until the next match, against the less-known Andorra, Tuchel had to accept that his work would not really start until June 2026. At that time, every match could be his last against England.
