Show your appreciation for World Cup hydration breaks at least once. Both halves allowed Thomas Tuchel to rectify the chaos he caused for England.
This pulsating roller coaster in Atlanta should serve as the wake-up call Tuchel needed. Because his loyalty to certain players and partnerships almost drove the Three Lions into a tailspin.
They need to use every gain within their power to usurp Mexico. If they play like they did for 75 minutes, they will leave the Estadio Azteca with their tails between their legs after a lopsided defeat.
That starts with choosing the right starting XI, which Tuchel has yet to do. There’s an argument to be made that he doesn’t even know his best lineup yet, and that’s definitely a concern at this stage of the tournament.
With so many changes, it’s no wonder England look vulnerable defensively. It didn’t take long for it to become clear that this was the first time this backline was playing together.
Jed Spence was unable to deal with Chancel Mbemba’s curling ball into the area, and Brian Shipenga took advantage of the gaping hole left by Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki to slot past Jordan Pickford.
Spence’s reaction was telling. It was everyone’s fault except him. In fact, Noni Madueke had a point in switching off and failing to pursue Shipenga.
There was also something to be said about whether Spence was able to communicate and hand Sadiki over to Ezri Konsa.
Nevertheless, these were structural problems arising from lack of familiarity and lack of time to work together directly in the training field.
England manager Thomas Tuchel narrowly wins against Democratic Republic of Congo
You have to wonder, for example, why Spence didn’t start against Panama when it was clear that England were relying on him in the absence of Reece James. Maduke, who played hot and cold in North America, had no real desire to play defense, and the same was true of Marcus Rashford.
That left the full-backs exposed and that’s part of the problem with this England side. Many tactical and personnel issues and relationships on the pitch are unnatural and unmarriageable.
Yet Tuchel seems completely obsessed with them. To his credit, Spence has grown to adapt to the game, but the right-back situation has been a complete mess since Tuchel first selected his 26-man squad.
He claimed “no one” saw James’ hamstring strain coming, but there was a lack of awareness given the Chelsea captain missed 14 games with injury last season and also missed the 2022 World Cup and 2021 European Championship.
Jed Spence struggled in the first half against DR Congo
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To make matters worse, Tuchel selected Tino Libramento to replace him after missing 28 games against Newcastle, but he was ruled out of the World Cup pre-tournament with a muscular problem.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and attacking weapons Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, who were holidaying in Ibiza and Marbella, were replaced by centre-back Trevor Chalobah, who did not play a single minute.
Not choosing or calling one side felt like a colossal mistake as an insensitive England struggled to break through the determined defense of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ironically, the Three Lions looked better when Declan Rice shifted to right-back. Although he and Elliott Anderson are both top midfielders, they lacked versatility as a pair.
The team that got England over the line was far more balanced and this game should set Tuchel’s mediocre experiment apart.
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