England are back where they belong, in the top tier of the UEFA Nations League. But now the real work begins: building towards the 2026 World Cup. That, after all, is why Thomas Tuchel has been hired as coach ahead of the departing Lee Carsley and all potential English candidates.
The German has been chosen to lead the Three Lions to the next major tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada due to his track record of quickly knocking teams into shape and for his renowned in-game management skills. He has pledged to make tough decisions, which is a good thing, as every call he makes will be heavily scrutinised by an over-bearing media. And many members of the press pack have already taken against Tuchel on account of being German, for delaying his start date and for being absent from the last two games of the Nations League campaign.
Tuchel has, however, shown himself to be tactically flexible across his storied coaching career with Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, using a 3-4-2-1 formation with the Blues and a 4-2-3-1 at Bayern.
Here, GOAL outlines how his first England side should line up when they begin their World Cup qualifying campaign next March, using the 3-4-2-1 formation which took Chelsea to Champions League glory…