How England could line up under Thomas Tuchel with brand new formation and return for forgotten man
ENGLAND could be set for a new look team should Thomas Tuchel be appointed as manager.
The German is reportedly in negotiations with the FA over the role vacated by Gareth Southgate earlier this year.
The Three Lions are currently under the charge of interim boss Lee Carsley, who has won two of his three games.
Last time out, though, England were uninspiring and humbled by Greece 2-1 at Wembley.
Carsley experimented with his team due to Harry Kane‘s absence but could not get a tune out of his attacking line-up, whch included Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, with Cole Palmer behind them.
Tuchel, however, could opt for a very different style to the interim boss should he be appointed.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager usually uses a 3-4-3 formation, which could provide an opportunity for one forgotten star.
Mason Mount has not been involved in the England set-up since the World Cup in 2022.
However, he enjoyed his most successful spell under Tuchel while the pair were at Stamford Bridge.
While playing under Tuchel, Mount scored 19 goals in 87 appearances in all competitions and won the Champions League in 2021.
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Should Tuchel land the England job, then he could get the best out of Mount for the national team.
However, the midfielder would need to bounce back and improve his form at Manchester United, having missed a lot of football due to injury since joining the club.
Mount’s reintroduction could be the first of former England players to get another crack at the whip on the international stage.
Although if Mount returns then it could be in the place of Phil Foden or Cole Palmer.
Tuchel could also offer lifelines to other previously capped players such as Ben Chilwell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Eric Dier.
Luke Shaw is considered the nation’s best left-back, but due to his injury struggles Tuchel could opt for Chilwell in his place.
The full-back starred for the German during his time at Stamford Bridge and has already earned 21 caps for England.
Loftus-Cheek could come back into the team to partner Declan Rice in the midfield.
The midfielder has excelled since his move to AC Milan, scoring ten goals in his 48 appearances.
The Three Lions have struggled to find a partner for Rice, with Kobbie Mainoo, Adam Wharton and Angel Gomes all being given chances.
Dier played for Tuchel at Bayern Munich as part of a back-three last season.
The defender did enough to convince the club to make his loan move permanent after he had fallen out of favour at Tottenham.
Reece James could also be a beneficiary of Tuchel’s potential appointment.
Should the Chelsea star regain his fitness, then he would certainly be a shoo-in over Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold in the right-wing-back role.
Tuchel has also often used a 4-2-3-1 formation during his time as a manager.
This could see the likes of Mount, Dier, Chilwell and James keep their spots in the team but in more traditional roles.
Dier could be used in the pivot alongside Rice, while James and Chilwell could line up a back four.
England player ratings vs Greece
By Tom Barclay
LEE CARSLEY’S tactical experiment of playing no strikers backfired as Vangelis Pavlidis’ double secured an emotional shock win for Greece at Wembley.
Interim England boss Carsley played all three of our nation’s gifted No10s – Phil Foden, Jue Bellingham and Cole Palmer – in varying positions.
But it did not work and the Greeks took a deserved lead thanks to Pavlidis’ belting second-half finish.
The visitors then held up a shirt in celebration bearing the name Baldock – in reference to their team-mate George Baldock, whose passing at the age of just 31 on Wednesday rocked the world of football.
Bellingham looked to have ensured the points were shared with a thunderous strike with three minutes to go.
But there was still time for Pavlidis to expose some woeful defending deep into injury time by firing past Jordan Pickford.
Here are SunSport’s player ratings from a dire night for England under the arch.
Jordan Pickford: 4
Wandered into no-man’s-land territory outside his box early on and lost the ball, allowing Greek skipper Tasos Baksetas a free shot at goal – only to be saved by Levi Colwill’s last-gasp clearance. Did not instil confidence, despite his experience.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6
Some tasty passes – they are his speciality, after all – but not great at the back. He, John Stones and Cole Palmer were weak in their attempt to close down Vangelis Pavlidis before the Benfica man smashed home the opener.
John Stones: 5
Made captain for what was his 82nd cap, surpassing Rio Ferdinand’s haul. But it was a shaky display from his defence and Stones should have done better to stop Pavlidis.
Levi Colwill: 7
Greece would have been ahead far sooner were it not for Colwill’s athletic hack away to deny Bakasetas. Replays showed it would have crossed the line had the Chelsea man been a split second later with his incredible intervention.
Rico Lewis: 6
Tried to bomb up the left flank where he could but, just like Kieran Trippier at the Euros, was hamstrung by constantly having to cut back onto his favoured right foot.
Declan Rice: 6
Played as England’s only holding midfielder, as fans had been imploring Gareth Southgate to use him for years. It was not like he was overrun but his side did look vulnerable on the counter.
Phil Foden: 4
Spent most of the game pressing the Greek backline as a false nine without really getting on the ball and causing any damage. Ineffective.
Cole Palmer: 6
Deployed in a deeper, central-midfield role which at least meant he saw plenty of the ball, though he blazed England’s best chance of the first half over the bar. Remarkably, his first competitive England start, despite being named on Tuesday as Three Lions player of the 2023-24 season.
Bukayo Saka: 5
Struggled to get into the game and then was forced out of it, worryingly limping off early in the second half. The last thing Arsenal fans wanted to see.
Jude Bellingham: 7 STAR MAN
Played in a false nine position and had a belting early shot well saved. The system did not work but Bellingham still so nearly emerged as the saviour by banging in his first goal of the season for club and country.
Anthony Gordon: 5
Caused Greece few problems and his touch looked off it. Had a decent chance from Alexander-Arnold’s peach of a delivery but headed over.
SUBS:
Noni Madueke (for Saka 52): Played out on the left, rather than his natural right, when coming on. Went down in the box deep into injury time but no penalty was given. 6
Ollie Watkins (for Gordon 60): Almost scored with his first touch when played through by Palmer, but smashed just over. 7
Dominic Solanke (for Foden 72): Grabbed an assist when laying the ball back to Bellingham who thumped in the leveller. 7
Manager Lee Carsley: 4
Seemed to gamble unnecessarily with this experimental system instead of playing it safe to add another win to boost his case to earn the job full-time. Carsley played without a natural centre-forward when winning the Under-21 Euros because he had to after Flo Balogun switched the USA and Rhian Brewster got injured, but here he did it by choice and it did not work. Bellingham looked to have saved his bacon – but then Pavlidis struck again.