As Thomas Tuchel gathered the England players for the first meet-up since the World Cup on Wednesday, the mood was very much of moving on. There was no great discussion of what had just gone, but instead simply the need to build on it.
That has been the manager’s entire attitude since that semi-final against Argentina, with many insiders perceiving a reluctance to accept responsibility. Tuchel has only really spoken about the positives, how fans speak to him about Mexico, while insisting only an estimated 0.1 per cent of them complain.
