Although England defeated Andorra 2-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, coach Thomas Tuchel and his players still faced criticism.
On September 6th, coach Thomas Tuchel deployed a very strong starting lineup against the team ranked 174th globally, aiming to improve the poor performance from the first leg in June when the "Three Lions" only won by one goal against Andorra.
England Faces Criticism
In this rematch, England secured all 3 points thanks to an own goal by Andorra in the first half and a goal by Declan Rice in the second half. Both goals originated from crosses.
Although they moved closer to the 2026 World Cup, England is still not highly rated due to struggles breaking through the disciplined defense of their opponents. Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane bluntly criticized: "I don’t think the coach was satisfied after the match. He must have been annoyed with the second half. We keep talking about setting high standards and building good habits. I think England has fallen back into old habits."
"Especially in the second half, it was all sideways and backward passing. Both goals today, especially the second, came from a cross. They need to cross more. Don’t complicate the game. I still see them retreating too often," Roy Keane stressed.
Meanwhile, BBC Sport’s Phil McNulty questioned: "They won – but is the dull England team regressing under Tuchel?"
Phil McNulty commented on the "Three Lions" performance: "In fact, Tuchel has yet to define a clear identity for the team, and England seems to have regressed since Southgate left after the loss to Spain in the EURO 2024 final. This was evident when thousands of English fans left early, turning Villa Park’s famous Holte End stand into a sea of empty blue seats."
"What worries Tuchel, and has been a concern throughout his tenure, is the lack of ideas, creativity, breakthroughs, and rhythm in their style of play," Phil McNulty confirmed.
Coach Thomas Tuchel still has much work to do with the England team
England Returns to a Classic Playing Style
Phil McNulty cited statistics against Thomas Tuchel. Specifically, many of England’s stats at Villa Park were worse than in the match against Andorra three months ago. Their shots dropped from 20 to 11, clear chances from 6 to 4, touches in the opponent’s penalty area from 52 to 41, and expected goals (xG) fell from 4 to 2.21.
"The initial tactic was clearly to move the ball forward faster, but the forward passing rate remained the same as in June – 23%. Tuchel claims England is on the right track. But if that’s true, the pace is as slow as a turtle," Phil McNulty remarked.
England’s recent style shows Tuchel is guiding his team back to a traditional approach with crosses. Actually, crossing never disappeared, but data shows its frequency has decreased – especially during Pep Guardiola’s peak period.
In the 2018/19 season, the average number of crosses per Premier League match was only 24.2, sharply down from 38.2 in 2008/09. During this time, England often played sharp central combinations, especially against weaker teams.
According to the Independent, Tuchel revealed his crossing strategy by selecting players like Reece James and Noni Madueke – the latter delivering the cross that led to Christian García’s own goal, opening the scoring. "James clearly has the ability to deliver crosses. England has an aerial threat, and while that alone might not be enough to beat Spain, France, or Argentina, it is definitely a useful weapon," the Independent acknowledged.
Finally, former England player Matt Upson said the "Three Lions" performance was the best possible given Andorra’s defensive tactics. "The issue is how we face the situation, and the situation here is that we are up against a team that doesn’t really want to turn this into a football match," Matt Upson stated.
"When facing such a scenario, the game becomes less exciting, but that’s not England’s fault. It’s simply the nature of these types of matches. They almost always unfold the same way," Matt Upson shared.
Thomas Tuchel has managed England in 5 matches, winning all 4 official 2026 World Cup qualifiers and losing only one friendly against Senegal. Among those 4 wins, England beat Andorra twice. The other two victories under Tuchel were against Latvia and Albania. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, England has won all 4 matches, scoring 8 goals and conceding none.
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