Thomas Tuchel has referred to his side as ‘underdogs’ for next summer’s tournament but the emergence of the Nottingham Forest midfielder shows just why England have got a great chance
Thomas Tuchel is a brilliant linguist but, occasionally, does not fully understand the nuances of some English words. That is why he did not anticipate the furore when he said his mother found some of Jude Bellingham’s behaviour “repulsive”.
And perhaps Tuchel did not appreciate the connotations when he said his England team would go into the World Cup finals as “underdogs.” In the strictest sense of the word, he is correct. According to the bookmakers, Spain are the favourites to lift the trophy, so that makes every other nation an underdog.
But the word suggests it would be some sort of surprise if England won the tournament. And that is most definitely NOT the case. If Tuchel’s team is an underdog, it has one heck of a bite.
Of course, games such as this one in Riga always come with the obvious caveat. Do not read too much into routine wins against opposition as starkly limited as Latvia were.
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But we can read plenty into an overall campaign that has seen England qualify for the finals with a couple of games to spare. And the most significant thing to glean from Tuchel’s comfortable start to his World Cup challenge is that he believes he has a lot of options when it comes to selection next summer.
And perhaps unlike his predecessor, Tuchel will not be afraid to use them. Never mind underdogs, there was further evidence in Riga that the understudies will be the key to success in the summer.
Only the likes of Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Elliot Anderson can no longer be classed as understudies. They were simply preferred ahead of the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish – and then preferred to others on match day.
And even if Bellingham tears it up in Madrid for the rest of the season, there is no guarantee he starts England’s first game at the finals. The same is certainly true of Foden and Grealish. In fact, there is no guarantee those two will be in the squad.
There was a lot of pre-match chat about Marcus Rashford but Gordon’s run and finish for England’s first was symptomatic of his confidence and development. Rogers would appear to be the beneficiary from Bellingham’s absence but, regardless, Tuchel clearly believes his link play to be of the highest order – and the Aston Villa man has not let him down.
And then there is Anderson. Over the course of four caps, 21-year-old Anderson has shown himself to be born to the international manor. He wins duels, he completes a lot of passes, he covers a lot of ground, he creates chances.
The Nottingham Forest player does not appear to have a significant weakness in his game. And when we talk of options, the likes of Anderson and Rogers are only two of many in the midfield area.
Don’t forget, the outstanding Adam Wharton could not even make it into this squad. Anderson’s work-rate, attitude and selflessness make him an identikit Tuchel player.
You have to put in the hard yards for Tuchel and, boy, Anderson does just that. There is a lot of club football to be played between now and Tuchel’s final selection but already the question is not about whether Anderson will be in the squad but whether he will be in the team.
And my bet is he will be. There are no understudies with Tuchel – and that is why England will be no underdogs when it all kicks off in June.
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