{"id":785722,"date":"2026-07-07T09:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/785722\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T09:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:12:12","slug":"clear-headed-thomas-tuchel-engineers-10-man-englands-defensive-masterclass-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/785722\/","title":{"rendered":"Clear-headed Thomas Tuchel engineers 10-man England\u2019s defensive masterclass | England"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was the night when Thomas Tuchel turned doubters into believers. In the madness of the Azteca<\/a>, England\u2019s coach ignored the noise about the altitude and took a breath when all around him were in danger of losing their heads.<\/p>\n

England tried so hard to knock themselves out of the World Cup<\/a>. This was so nearly a repeat of previous gut-wrenching tournament exits. All the ingredients were there, from the typical loss of composure in possession when England were leading 2-0 to one unlucky youngster getting himself sent off for a stupid challenge early in the second half. It would probably would have ended in the usual heartbreak without Tuchel\u2019s interventions.<\/p>\n

The Football Association could not have wished for a better demonstration of why Tuchel was chosen as Sir Gareth Southgate\u2019s replacement in October 2024. This was an elite coach reacting to events and showcasing his tactical acumen under extreme pressure. It was Tuchel at his strategising best. He barely put a foot wrong from the start and came into his own when England<\/a> lost Jarell Quansah to a red card after a video assistant referee review for a foul on Jes\u00fas Gallardo in the 52nd\u00a0minute.<\/p>\n

In the initial rejig, Ezri Konsa moved into the cursed right-back slot vacated by Quansah, who had done well until that point, and John Stones stepped into central defence after replacing Bukayo Saka.<\/p>\n

At first, though, England did not sit back after going down to 10 men. They attacked again and swiftly went 3-1 up through a Harry Kane penalty, only for the captain to give Mexico renewed hope after his foul on Brian Guti\u00e9rrez allowed Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez to pull another goal back with a nerveless spot-kick with 21 minutes left.<\/p>\n

That was the moment when the game seemed to be slipping away from England. But when the hydration break followed, Tuchel delivered key messages to his players and made the substitutions that ensured there was no way through for Mexico, even though the pressure was relentless and the\u00a0tension unbearable during more than 11 minutes of added\u00a0time.<\/p>\n

It was a defensive masterclass from Tuchel. Realising England were exhausted and needed to conserve energy, he decided to switch to a back five. He brought on Djed Spence for a limping Nico O\u2019Reilly at left\u2011wingback and added an extra bolt in central defence by replacing Elliot Anderson with Dan\u00a0Burn.<\/p>\n

Dan Burn produced a towering display on his World Cup debut after coming off the bench. Photograph: Jam Media\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Burn produced a towering display on his World Cup debut, meeting one cross with a header so powerfully it flew into Mexico\u2019s half. Stones and Marc Gu\u00e9hi were also exceptional in the middle and Jordan Pickford commanded his area and had perhaps his greatest game for England.<\/p>\n

Mexico were simply not allowed through. The hosts were shoved from side to side and, but for the moment when Stones almost scored an own goal, prevented from making their possession or territorial dominance count thanks to the discipline and desire of England\u2019s defending.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this win will change the conversation around Tuchel. Some have sniped at him, questioned his selection choices, accused his talent identification of not being good enough. But when it comes to squad dynamics it is clear he has picked the right characters.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

His England have character and togetherness. They could have wilted against a frenetic Mexico, but they refused to roll over and will go into Saturday\u2019s quarter-final against Norway knowing their best\u00a0chance of victory will be to follow the instructions of their head coach.<\/p>\n

Tuchel\u2019s decisions were spot-on. His initial plan was smart. He sent England out to be controlled and streetwise, to slow the game at first, to douse Mexico\u2019s fire. One tactical flex was to swap his central midfielders around. Anderson shifted to the left to monitor the gifted Gilberto Mora. Rice was on the right, from where he protected Quansah during the early stages, before shifting the mood with a 50-yard surge that led to England taking the lead.<\/p>\n

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The one moment the Arsenal connection clicked proved pivotal. Rice ignored the neural pain in a hamstring, overwhelmed Mexico with his sheer physicality and found Saka, who justified Tuchel starting him by reaching the byline and crossing for Jude Bellingham to head England in\u00a0front.<\/p>\n

Saka did not have a good game. He looked uncertain and unfit for long spells. He lost the ball on several occasions and gave away silly free-kicks. Yet Tuchel was right with both of his choices on the flanks. Saka\u2019s quality told for the first goal and Anthony Gordon, full of confidence after making both of Kane\u2019s goals against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 32, had a fine game after replacing Marcus Rashford on the\u00a0left.<\/p>\n

Gordon had the beating of Mexico\u2019s right-back, Jorge S\u00e1nchez, and was involved when England doubled their lead, counterpressing in tandem with Anderson before Kane crossed for Bellingham to score again from close range.<\/p>\n

Anthony Gordon justified his inclusion, epitomising England\u2019s work ethic and winning a penalty. Photograph: Charlotte Wilson\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

England needed everyone to put in a shift. Gordon epitomised their work ethic. He won the decisive penalty for Kane, running through and drawing the foul from Ra\u00fal Rangel. But he also tracked back to provide extra cover on the left. Gordon stopped crosses, hacked clearances away and never stopped running. Tuchel could not have asked for more from him.<\/p>\n

It took a collective effort from England to dent Mexico\u2019s daunting record at the Azteca. But it comes back to Tuchel. England have flirted with chaos throughout the World Cup. They have two world-class forwards, but there are problems in a number of positions. Some players are limping through games, others are struggling for consistency.<\/p>\n

Tuchel offers clarity. He is cool, logical and smart. It is time to trust him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was the night when Thomas Tuchel turned doubters into believers. In the madness of the Azteca, England\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785723,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-785722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}