One of the problems of international football is that everybody is always asking the wrong question, which to an extent is built into the form. Qualifiers matter only in as much as they have to be negotiated. Friday’s win by England over Albania fell into a very familiar pattern. The brave new world of Thomas Tuchel turned out to look a lot like the faded old world of Gareth Southgate. England had lots of the ball, did not move it fast enough and won by a couple of goals. It does not matter. They could have won 10-0, 8-5 or 1-0 and it would mean almost nothing in terms of the winning of the World Cup.
England want to win the World Cup next summer. They have a squad that should make them challengers. Barring pratfalls, there will come a point next year when they will play an Argentina or a Spain or a France, a team of equivalent or greater talent and, almost certainly, that is what will determine whether they are successful.
