- 7 hours ago
England have qualified for the World Cup without conceding a single goal... which is mad. But while Tuchel has fixed Southgate's 4-2-3-1, he's also developed another system within it that should solve one of the nation's oldest footballing problems. Adam Clery looks at the formation, and the personnel, who could make this a summer to remember.
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00:00Right, hello everybody. England have qualified for North America 26, I don't know what we're actually going to call it,
00:08and they've done it by winning every single game and not conceding a single goal.
00:13Now I am not getting carried away, but today we are going to prove that England are going to win
00:19the World Cup.
00:23Nope, can't do that with a straight face, sorry.
00:26No, what we're actually going to prove is that Thomas Tuchel has, after a ropey start,
00:32managed to evolve this team from the resilient but desperately frustrating mess they were at the Euros,
00:38into a proper, well-structured, functional, international side.
00:44So today, a little look at how he has refined what is basically just the same system that had us
00:50all throwing our pints at pub tellies in the summer,
00:52and how he has also built another system within it that should theoretically be a lot more dominant in the
01:00games where England are clear favourites.
01:02And you will know, that almost never happens.
01:05So yes, this is how England are going to line up in the USA.
01:10Or Canada, or Mexico, because they've not done the draw yet.
01:17All right, so just quickly before we start, two things, right?
01:20First of all, this video is a little bit late, because we have spent this week working on your Christmas
01:26present,
01:27which is incredibly big, and has never been done before, and you will get to see it on Christmas Day,
01:33or a few days earlier, if you are a channel member.
01:37Now I'm not going to spoil the surprise, except I am.
01:40It's a massive tactical breakdown of the 1966 World Cup final.
01:44And secondly, you may be noticing some additional FOTMOB branding in some videos.
01:48That is because they are now ACFC's official data partner, which is very cool.
01:54It's not quite the same as Liverpool having an official skincare partner,
01:57or Man United's really weird global mattress and pillow partner, but we are getting there.
02:03So if you have not already done it, go and download the app on your phone, because it is legitimately
02:08really good.
02:09Oh, and third thing.
02:11Anyway, right, yes, the thing you actually clicked on.
02:13I would say, in this just insanely divided nation of ours, the one thing we can all agree on,
02:20is that these six players are currently England's guaranteed starters, if they're fit.
02:26And these other five positions are currently, they're open to interpretation, they might come down to a bit of form,
02:33they may depend on who they're playing, they are up for grabs.
02:37Now I've said this in an older video, but Tuchel's biggest decision when he came in was Kane or no
02:43Kane.
02:43England kept finding a way at the Euros, but in terms of how they actually played, they were a complete
02:49mess.
02:50They couldn't build up effectively in their own third, they had no incision in the final third.
02:55And again, we covered this in the previous international break, but the main reason for that disconnect was Harry Kane.
03:01You've got the best centre-forward in the entire world dropping into this space to allow players to run beyond
03:08him,
03:08and England paired him with three players who all want to sort of be in this exact area,
03:15doing the exact same thing for a striker who was running beyond them.
03:20Bellingham, Foden, Palmer, even Saka to an extent, they all, for different reasons,
03:25want a centre-forward to stretch the defence, and the only two good goals England scored in the whole tournament
03:30were after they'd taken Kane off.
03:33So the temptation would have been absolutely massive, like Kane is 32, just sack him off,
03:38get a centre-forward who will go in behind and build the entire team around Foden, Bellingham, Palmer,
03:44any of the number 10s you like, and go from there.
03:47But he, of course, did not do that, and if you look at Bayern this season, you see why.
03:51In a system that plays to his strengths, not only has Kane got 23 goals in 17 games,
03:58but Luis Diaz has 11 goals, Michael Alise has 7 goals, Gnabry's got 4.
04:03And that's practically as many goals for the lads behind him as it is for Harry Kane.
04:07So this whole attacking unit can flourish when used correctly.
04:12And that is what Tuchel is trying to do with England.
04:16And you've seen that, like, in the Serbia game, he drops so, so deep to get in possession,
04:21and Saka, Rodgers, Rashford, they all take advantage of the space this makes,
04:26while inevitably Kane arrives late, making it far harder to mark him.
04:30And you compare that to how static he was at the Euros, and the whole thing is just night and
04:37day.
04:37Harry Kane can be, and is, England's most important player.
04:41And then, you've got Bukayo Saka, who I actually think had a similar problem to Harry Kane at the Euros.
04:46He also found himself totally isolated, but he has got it in him to be more direct and complement Kane
04:54quite well.
04:55And we've seen this under Tuchel.
04:57He's flourished in those last couple of internationals, like, the Wales goal was great, the Serbia goal was great.
05:03He is absolutely a lock-in for this team.
05:06Likewise, Jordan Pickford, I know Henderson got a start very recently, but it has been Pickford in every single other
05:14game.
05:14And he is just England's best goalkeeper, so he'll start.
05:18Which takes us to John Stones and Rhys James.
05:23Now, neither of them have a spotless injury record.
05:26In fact, comparatively, just to look at last season as a whole, this was the amount of league football they
05:31both missed.
05:32Now, it might be a little too small on your screen to really tell this, unless you, like, smush it
05:37right up to your face and squint.
05:39But in the early part of the season, when Stones was fit, he wasn't really starting.
05:43And in the latter part of the season, when James was fit, there was a lot of managing his minutes.
05:50And neither of those facts, I would say, fills you with a lot of confidence that you'll be able to
05:55rely upon them come the summer.
05:57However, however, however, however, if they are both fit and available, then they will both be starting because of this
06:05super sexy, secret, inbuilt, special plan B formation that Tuchel has put into the 4-2-3-1.
06:13Against Albania, and in the first half against, I want to say, Latvia, England have shifted into a 3-2
06:21-2-3.
06:22A box midfield. Declan Rice steps up into the front line, giving you two 10s. That's very exciting.
06:28And John Stones, just like he used to do at Manchester City, has been stepping into the midfield, giving you
06:34this shape here.
06:36And England looked untouchable in the build-up.
06:40Now, yes, it didn't quite click in the final third in that game, but it does allow you to get
06:46Declan Rice into that 8-10 position where he's so good for Arsenal.
06:50And five really good attacking players in the forward line.
06:56And crucially, this makes Rhys James an absolutely vital pick for this team.
07:01Because not only is he just really good as a right-back in a back four, but he's also very
07:07comfortable tucking in to be that right-sided centre-back.
07:10And if for some reason you did not have John Stones to step into the midfield, he has shown at
07:16Chelsea that he can be the one to do that.
07:19So you've got two ways to build this system if he is in it.
07:22And just in case you need any further proof that this is going to be the plan at the World
07:27Cup, right,
07:28when Rhys James has not been available, it has either been Kwanza or Kwanza, which is obviously a bit of
07:34a mouthful.
07:35And both of those are perfect at tucking in to be the right-sided centre-back.
07:40Now, since you've mentioned Declan Rice there, it is also worth pointing out that he was a huge problem at
07:45the Euros
07:46because for all his litany of abilities on a football pitch, getting lumbered with all the burden in the build
07:53-up is not good for him.
07:56Alexander-Arnold was a great passer, but didn't want it with his back-to-play.
07:59And Mayne, who's a great progresser, but wouldn't come and take it off the centre-backs.
08:03Meaning Rice had to do all of that instead, and he really, really struggled.
08:07But now, and this brings us to the first of our picks for this video,
08:11England have magically found Elliot Anderson.
08:14And he looks like he's been their number six for like 10 years or something.
08:18He will 1,000% be starting at the World Cup.
08:22He was just straight into this team, setting the tempo, getting the ball out of the back, covering the space,
08:28making the entire system work, and allows Declan Rice to focus on what Declan Rice is good at.
08:34So I would say, right, these seven players here, they are the system.
08:39They are Thomas Tuchel's England, and they will play in the way he wants them to play.
08:45So the remaining four positions, they all have to fit in with what this team is trying to do.
08:51So we're going to start with Jude Bellingham, because on the face of it, he doesn't.
08:57Now at the Euros, he usually started as the 10, but was occasionally shunted out to the left.
09:01And by and large, he wanted to play in this space here.
09:05And what we've already seen in the last couple of camps is that Morgan Rodgers is far better suited
09:11to playing off Kane than Bellingham is.
09:14He does get into that space that Kane leaves.
09:16He does take the defenders away.
09:17He does attack directly, but still, I would bet you really good money that it's Bellingham
09:23who gets the nod at the World Cup over Rodgers.
09:27And that is because while he wasn't doing this at the Euros, while it is not his preferred
09:32way to play, he is still absolutely capable of it, and capable of it at such a high level.
09:39I think he's had his best season of his entire career as a late box crashing forward for Madrid,
09:44and we got little flashes of that against Latvia.
09:48So I think Morgan Rodgers has been brilliant for this manager psychologically, right?
09:54He's enabled Tuchel to go to Bellingham, to Foden, to Palmer and say, look, there is a
09:58very specific way you have to play if you want this role.
10:03And if you can't do it or you won't do it, then I don't give a shit.
10:06I will select the man who both can and will.
10:09So Bellingham, I think, will start, but Rodgers will travel, and either Foden or Bellingham
10:17won't.
10:18So with all of that established, we now know that whoever starts on the left-hand side
10:23needs to be doing the exact same thing.
10:25Harry Kane will drop, and we want three players who will all try and attack the box.
10:30And I would say, despite Gordon starting the bulk of Tuchel's internationals, that will
10:34still be Marcus Rashford.
10:36He is about as perfect a fit for a team doing this as you could hope to possibly find.
10:43And now that he's banging in the goals for Barcelona and contributing in at national level,
10:46despite looking like he was finished two years ago, he's a shoo-in.
10:51I would go so far as to back him to have a massive tournament if he continues upon the trajectory
10:58he is currently on.
10:59Which just leaves my dear, dear friends, the other centre-back and the left-back.
11:05Now, if we look at the centre-back picks for England this season, Mark Gay has started
11:09three of the four games he was eligible for, and Concer has started four of the six, but
11:15one of them was at right-back.
11:16Now, I don't think there's too much, actually, to separate them.
11:19I think they're both really good options.
11:22But it does sort of feel like Mark Gay's gone up, like, another level this year, which maybe
11:28just makes him slight favourite.
11:30And also, he has got that crucial tournament experience everyone loves to talk about.
11:35So yeah, if he is fit, I would say it's him.
11:39He is him.
11:41He's that guy, buddy, or whatever.
11:43Which brings us finally to England's starting left-back, and shit the beds, this one's quite
11:50tricky.
11:51It did look like Myles Lewis Skelly had this position locked down, like he had that run
11:56of start.
11:56He was also asked to invert alongside Rice in that 3-2-2-3.
12:01It was going well.
12:02He was a natural pick for what was being asked, and he scored that belter little goal doing
12:06so.
12:07But he was not even in this squad.
12:10He has barely kicked a ball for Arsenal this season, and he will not be getting the nod
12:15unless he first gets back in that team.
12:18Which means that Nico O'Reilly has massively benefited from this opening because, as another
12:24reformed, recovering central midfielder, he can offer a very similar set of skills.
12:30He's a powerful runner with the ball if he needs to be a left-back's left-back, but he
12:34can also be comfortable in possession if they want someone to step into the midfield.
12:38Now just imagine you are a manager who is going to be getting his team this summer to play
12:43that 3-2-5, and you've actually got three players in your back line who are all really
12:49good at either stepping up or inverting from full-back, right?
12:54That is a wet dream if this is the sort of stuff you dream about, which, just look at
13:02this man.
13:03Of course it is.
13:03Now I would say, honestly, O'Reilly has probably passed the late audition here, and the other
13:08two really strong options, Liv Rimento and Spence, are not left-footed.
13:13Now truly and honestly, right, I think who England really want at left-back this summer
13:17is Lewis Hall.
13:19I think he does absolutely everything that's going to be required of him, and is a better
13:24defender than those other options.
13:26But he simply has not been in the squad enough to make the case for himself.
13:30So I think instead, if O'Reilly can hold down that position at Manchester City, which
13:35is obviously no guarantee under Pep Guardiola, then I think he does start in America.
13:41So I think, all things being equal, this is your starting XI for England this coming summer.
13:49And it is just a really good mix of unbelievably talented individuals, but also incredibly selfless
13:58system players.
13:59It's a great mix of experience and enthusiasm.
14:02It's got players who excel on the ball and players who excel off the ball.
14:06And it is, for the first time I can ever remember seeing, an England team that comprehensively
14:13works.
14:14But yes, of course, not getting carried away.
14:16Am I still plenty of time for some sort of scandal, devastating injury, or of course,
14:22late penalty heartbreak?
14:23But if you have enjoyed this video, please do subscribe to us here at the Adam Cleary
14:27Football Channel.
14:28We're going to be having so much fun with the World Cup.
14:30Like, you've got absolutely no idea, and you don't want to miss that.
14:33Plus, real football is back this weekend, and we'll be covering the hell out of that.
14:37You get me across all the social medias, at Adam Cleary, C-L-E-R-Y.
14:41If you would like to tell us what videos we should be making, you can become a channel
14:45member.
14:45We're having a genuinely unbelievable time with all the people in that.
14:49The way you can join us in.
14:50But yes, until next time, though, that is England.
14:53This was me, but you knew both of those things already.
14:56And yeah, I'll see you for the North London Derby.
15:01Unless you're watching this after that's already gone out, because it's kind of got a timeless
15:05element to it, I guess.
15:06So sorry if I've ruined the causality of time for you there.
15:11Bye.
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