Was Tuchel's failure predictable?

Coach Thomas Tuchel's controversial squad list is causing more worry than hope for the English ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Coach Tuchel faces immense pressure ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

When the English Football Association (FA) decided to appoint Thomas Tuchel in October 2024, they were blunt about their objective. Not the semi-finals or the final, but the 2026 World Cup title. Anything else was considered a failure.

Twenty months later, the biggest football festival on the planet is just around the corner. And the more you look at the current England team, the more you get the feeling that Tuchel has taken a huge gamble. There, the line between genius and villain is thinner than ever.

Tuchel's gamble

In theory, the "Three Lions" have everything to dream of reaching the top. They possess Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and a generation of players considered among the most talented in Europe. Their World Cup qualifying campaign also went perfectly, with England winning all eight matches, scoring consistently, and notably not conceding a single goal.

But football doesn't exist on paper. What worries many is that the England team under Tuchel remains an unknown quantity.

They easily defeated weaker opponents like Albania, Latvia, and Andorra, but disappointed when facing higher-ranked teams. The defeat against Senegal, the draw against Uruguay, and the lackluster performance against Japan exposed many of the team's shortcomings.

Those were matches where England faced the same intensity, pace, and pressure as the World Cup knockout rounds. And they didn't win any of them. Perhaps it was from these results that Tuchel made the most controversial decision since taking the job.

Potential players who could make a difference, like Foden or Palmer, were left out of the squad.

His 26-player World Cup squad was nothing short of a media bombshell. Harry Maguire was left out. Trent Alexander-Arnold was left out. Cole Palmer was left out. Phil Foden was left out. Adam Wharton and Morgan Gibbs-White were also absent. Instead, Dan Burn, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, Jordan Henderson, and Ivan Toney were included.

Immediately, public opinion in England split into two camps. One side argued that Tuchel was shooting himself in the foot by leaving out so many stars capable of making a difference. The other side believed that the German strategist was doing something his predecessor Gareth Southgate had never been brave enough to do: putting the team above all else.

The problem is that the World Cup is not a tournament for romantic experiments. Looking at England's reserve squad, the concerns are clearly evident.

If trailing in a quarter-final or semi-final, who will be the one to create the game-changing moment? Palmer did it at Euro 2024. Foden can decide a match with just one touch. Alexander-Arnold possesses the kind of passes that unlock defenses, a feat few players in the world can accomplish.

Tuchel ruled out almost all of those options. He believes that a championship-winning team doesn't necessarily need to consist of the 26 most talented players, but rather the most suitable players. That's the philosophy he's been emphasizing for months.

Tuchel also wants to build a unified team, a collective willing to sacrifice for each other, rather than a squad full of egos. That sounds reasonable. But the World Cup has never been decided solely by team spirit.

Champion or Judgment

Tuchel is the kind of coach who can hardly be underestimated. His achievements in cup competitions are undeniable. He led Dortmund to numerous German Cup finals, helped PSG reach the Champions League final for the first time, and most notably, won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021.

In short tournaments, Tuchel always knows how to optimize resources, build a solid defensive system, and find winning strategies in crucial matches. That's why the FA entrusted him with a task that Gareth Southgate couldn't accomplish.

But the 2026 World Cup could be the biggest test of the German coach's career. Because this time, he won't be judged based on his journey or performances. Only the final result will be remembered.

Only winning the World Cup with England would be considered a success for Tuchel.

If England are eliminated in the quarter-finals or semi-finals, the controversies surrounding the squad selection will immediately return. Questions will be raised as to why Palmer was left out, why Foden was left out, or why Alexander-Arnold wasn't given a chance.

Conversely, if England win, Tuchel will become the hero who breaks the 60-year curse on English football. That's the essence of this gamble.

Tuchel is going against the mainstream and rejecting safety. He places his faith in tactical structure, discipline, and team spirit rather than the glamour of star players. The problem is that the World Cup is not the place to prove a philosophy right or wrong. The answer can only be win or lose.

Therefore, Tuchel's failure was not unpredictable. It was warned about from the moment he announced the squad. But precisely because of this, if successful, it would be one of the greatest achievements in the history of English football.

From now until the day he lifts the trophy or packs his bags and goes home, Tuchel will live with his choice. There is no turning back or opportunity to correct mistakes. The German coach has only one goal: to win the World Cup.

Because for England right now, and for Tuchel himself, finishing as runner-up or in the semi-finals would be no different from a failure.

Source: https://znews.vn/that-bai-duoc-du-bao-truoc-cua-tuchel-post1656145.html