Tuchel says England have unlocked new level after Nations League tweaks

Thomas Tuchel said on 7 October 2026 that England had unlocked a new level after moving forward with tactical changes during the opening Nations League fixtures, and he praised the squad for buying into the new ideas and taking "calculated risks".

Tuchel described a shift that combined retained aggression — particularly a high press and a front-foot approach — with greater freedom for players to trust their instincts while covering for teammates. England lost to Spain at Wembley but followed that defeat with three wins: two victories over Czechia either side of a 7-0 win against Croatia in Rijeka, results that have in essence guaranteed their progress into the quarter-finals of a competition regarded as a tune-up for Euro 2028 and helped distance the group from the World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina in July.

Reflecting on the camp, Tuchel said: "I have never done a big tournament or a big camp after a tournament. It was new for me and brilliant to see how everyone bought in to the idea of the next steps and the details needed to adjust to maybe unlock the next level. It was football on a very high level, football that suits us, attacking football. It was a lot of high-ball wins and we took some calculated risks in the 'man-man' approach in the opponents' half. We did it in all four games and we had four good performances if unfortunately not four wins. We didn’t beat Spain but it was always about the reaction and that was on a high level."

Tuchel's assistant, Anthony Barry, had spoken about adding more flexibility and fluidity to England's game model, and Tuchel expanded on how that translated into training and matches. "We had the feeling that it was the next step because we saw them in training and we said sometimes we were missing the transfer [from the training pitch] into the game," he said. "So we made some slight adjustments to how we trained – not big ones because we always believed we had something to build on – but slight adjustments in the structure of how we build up and also how we defend. I am happy that what we did worked. We finally had two weeks with the team which helped a lot because we can do reviews of matches and training and we have a chance for a common language to sink in, for the patterns to sink in."

Defender Jarell Quansah said the team's style had become more aggressive and front-footed since the World Cup. "It’s exactly that," he said. "I think it’s going all out. We can really dominate teams with the lads playing in the Premier League at such a high level and high intensity. It’s being relentless and ruthless. As soon as we score a goal, it’s not easing off, it’s going again, going again, trying to get the next goal, trying to put the next player under pressure. Everyone’s working for each other. If someone gets outplayed, the next person is into a tackle. We’ve put together a few performances now where we’ve fully gone for games and not tried to sit back. That’s what we wanted to do in this camp. We’ve shown how aggressive and dominant we can be against top nations in a tough group. There’s a lot more to come."

Quansah also addressed his World Cup dismissal against Mexico, describing the experience and its aftermath. He was sent off in the last 16 at the Estadio Azteca for catching Jesús Gallardo with a high and late tackle in the 54th minute while England led 2-1; England went further ahead before being pegged back to 3-2 and ultimately progressed, and Quansah was suspended for the quarter-final and semi-final. "It was horrible," he said. "I went into the tackle quite fast so it was a bit unlucky to end up the way it did. Being inside [the dressing room] and watching the team pull through was gut-wrenching but an unbelievable moment as well. It was tough. And obviously the two-game ban wasn’t ideal. You’re not just going to move on and forget about stuff. Obviously, it hurts so much. It’s not easy to get over something like that and it’s not been too long after."

England have in essence guaranteed progression to the Nations League quarter-finals, a stage the squad has now effectively secured while using the international window to trial the tactical adjustments Tuchel and his staff introduced.