Previously, Gareth Southgate struggled to find identity for the England team. The "Three Lions" are formed from the stars of clubs, so sometimes the identity of these teams is clearly shown in the national team. In his eight years in charge, Southgate has never solved that problem.
However, Thomas Tuchel is different. The German tactician spoke about the style he wants to build for the national team as soon as he took over from Southgate. According to Tuchel, the "Three Lions" style is the style of the entire Premier League.
"The Premier League is a tournament of physical strength and power, it is an arena of direct confrontations" - Tuchel said at Wembley. The former Chelsea captain said he was very aware of the traditional power of English football. If the Premier League already has its own identity, he wants to apply it to the England team.
Previously, England tended to play slowly, cautiously and sometimes very conservatively. When clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid... start integrating with modern football, they play much faster and more directly. Many English sides also played at high speeds, but every time they looked at the Three Lions at that time, the slowness was everywhere.
Southgate's previous playing style (provisionally nicknamed "Gazball") was criticized quite a lot for being too predictable. Southgate has been in the coaching position for so long thanks to his achievement of leading England to 2 consecutive EURO finals. Although the results are good, it cannot be denied that the "Three Lions" in the previous era played very outdated football.
"We need to increase the intensity and tempo of the match to a higher level than before. I want to see more touches in the opponent's penalty area, want more ball recoveries right in the opponent's feet" - Tuchel shared frankly.
This is a huge challenge because it requires a rich physical foundation for the players. In each national team gathering like this, the players will often be physically exhausted due to having just played with the club. To play the football Tuchel wants is not simple.
Tuchel knows it will not be easy for the players to fully absorb his ideas when there is not much working time. It will be the first time the German coach has met everyone since Monday. From now until the 2026 World Cup, Tuchel only has about 60 days to train and compete with England. The former Chelsea captain wants to open a crash course in this short period of time to teach a new philosophy and hope the players will learn it.
"It's easier to say than do. Each club has a different pressing and pressing style. Therefore, the coaching staff needs to unify everything.
Our task is to make every idea easier to understand, making it easy for players to turn it into an opportunity on the pitch, both with and without the ball. At the same time, the players still have their own space to compete in personal skills. I really hope the glory of the Premier League will be seen in the England team in the near future" - Tuchel shared.
