Coach Thomas Tuchel is in a difficult situation as England prepare to enter the matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Leading Group K with 3 wins in all matches, the "Three Lions" are almost certain to get a ticket to continue. However, at the present time, they are still far away from being a strong candidate for the championship at next year's World Cup.
The most recent training session in June exposed many problems of the England team. They struggled to overcome Andorra before losing to Senegal in a friendly match. With only 4 remaining test matches before Tuchel announced the official list of players participating in the World Cup, there is not much time left.
Notably, this call-up is further complicated as key players such as Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer are all absent due to injury.
Tuchel has been criticized a lot since he was appointed to replace Gareth Southgate. Partly because he is a German coach, partly because his short-term contract only lasts until the end of the World Cup. The unconvincing performances under him have further increased skepticism.
However, a big win over Andorra and a positive result against Serbia - a direct opponent in the race for the top spot - could help Tuchel regain confidence and temporarily extinguish the wave of criticism.
Tuchel has a rather complicated relationship with his students. His appearance at a party with former Chelsea players who won the Champions League earlier this year partly showed his closeness. However, his unconstrained statements show how easily he can offend the players.
The England captain clearly does not have the same connection to the team as his predecessor Southgate. And perhaps he will never achieve that. However, Tuchel also needs to avoid becoming a "secondFabio Capello" - who was once famous far away, often had disagreements with his students and eventually caused the team to suffer many disadvantages.
In the short time left, Tuchel is forced to make the most of it to understand his players. And the most important thing is to avoid repeating unfortunate mistakes.
Tuchel may be in possession of an all-win record in official matches as England head coach. However, his team has not yet left a truly convincing performance, although the opponents are mostly quite easy to play.
The matches against Albania and Latvia in March were just round the table, while the narrow victory over Andorra was almost a embarrassment. The defeat to Senegal later made the warning bell ring even more clearly.
Despite being criticized for being too cautious, Southgate still knows how to help England "walk" against weak opponents. The clearest proof is that the "Three Lions" have scored 6 goals twice in the World Cup group stage.
Those overwhelming victories, even against opponents below the line, still played an important role. This helps increase the confidence of the players and give the fans more momentum.
Tuchel also needs a similar boost now. A big win over Andorra and an impressive performance in Serbia will be an opportunity for him to regain confidence, dispel criticism and create momentum ahead of the World Cup.
