Inside the foyer of the England team hotel in Kansas City, along with the TV screens that show the World Cup matches, there is an anachronism. It is a record player and it is worth reporting there were younger members of the squad who looked genuinely baffled by it. What were these strange plastic circles that went on it?
The Football Association found out the favourite songs of each player and obtained vinyl versions of them. And very popular the whole thing has been, even if Harry Kane has been determined to play country and western on it. Harry, this is not leadership.
Music has been the answer for England. As their training sessions have got under way, there have been songs blasted out from pitch-side speakers. On the Sunday before last, for example, it was Dr Dre, Coolio and Tupac. Luther Vandross has also been heard. It has been eclectic. But for the moment of communion, which came after England started their Group L campaign with the 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas last Wednesday, it was all about Oasis.
Thomas Tuchel and his players stood in front of the massed ranks of England fans and joined in with Wonderwall as it was played over the PA system. Kane called it one of his “favourite ever moments in an England shirt” and Tuchel loved it as well. The head coach watched Oasis at Wembley last September and was spotted yelling along to the same song. Now he could do so again after what he described as “one of the best days” of his career. Move over Sweet Caroline. The Oasis classic has the potential to be the soundtrack to England’s World Cup.
“Hopefully it becomes an anthem,” Tuchel said. “That is exactly what a tournament like this is for – the connection between fans and the team. I am so glad because I think the fans saw and felt what I see and feel every day with this team. They felt the energy, the team spirit, the commitment. And from all this energy came the synergy after the match. It was a beautiful moment and it meant a lot to all of us. Hopefully we can recreate this in the next game.”
The next game is against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday at 4pm local time (9pm BST) and the theme is connections: how Tuchel is driving them; how he wants his team to mirror the Premier League with speed, physicality and risk-taking; the running power, the set pieces. Call it guitar-rock football. Call it Britpop football. Something with irresistible momentum. Tuchel and his players found the spark with the second-half surge against Croatia. It is about more of that – about doing it better.
Tuchel is a different animal now the serious business has started. The edge is there. The players have felt it. Just ask Djed Spence, who was ordered to wake up by Tuchel in training on Saturday – in full view of the media. This kind of thing does not normally play out in the small window when the cameras are present. It spoke to the German’s demanding nature. The clarity and transparency of his set-up was illustrated by the candid critique of the team that his assistant, Anthony Barry, gave to ITV during the interval against Croatia. Tournament Thomas is here.
“I don’t do any extras,” Tuchel said. “It just gives me a lot of energy to be in a competitive tournament and be in a competitive mode and be surrounded by world-class players and fantastic personalities. It energises me and that’s how it needs to be done.
“I’m influencing the players and staff so I have to be on the front foot. And also not too much. I want to have the right mix between relaxation and the smile and the arm round the shoulder and good spirit. But I hope that they feel it because the competition is on. I want to be at my best and support them, help them be their best because it’s their stage. It’s their potential that has to bring us all the way.”
The Croatia game was not perfect. The first-half display was messy. England’s deep buildup play was disjointed in the face of their opponents’ press and the spaces in midfield were not right. Without the ball, Tuchel’s team sank too early into a low block. The concessions were soft, especially the second from Petar Musa on the stroke of half-time. “We were a bit too man-man focused and didn’t rely enough on our structure to be able to push out again and into the opponent’s half,” Tuchel said.
The positives were more plentiful and they took in the relationship between Kane and Jude Bellingham, which was detailed by the Fifa technical study group expert and former Costa Rica forward Paulo Wanchope. Tuchel asked his midfielders, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, to vacate the space in the middle of the pitch, dragging opposing players away and allowing Kane to drop into a deep playmaking role, creating an overload. With the wingers high and wide, Bellingham threatened between the lines. “It was clear Kane and Bellingham had worked on it,” Wanchope wrote.
Still only 22, Bellingham is set to win his 50th cap against Ghana and Tuchel was glowing in his praise of the Real Madrid player. “I saw the full potential and the full commitment of Jude,” he said. “There is no doubt that a game and competition like this brings out the best in him but it needed improvement.
“The connection between Jude and Harry, the connection between Jude and Declan and Elliot, it needs improvement and needed improvement. It was a big step. Jude played fully into our idea and he was fully committed to the team idea and team spirit and to play in full cohesion with everyone else. He was super reliable and had a top performance.”
Tuchel expects Ghana to present a different challenge on an occasion when it ought not to be crazily hot; the temperature at kick-off in Boston is predicted to be 19C. It may also rain. “I expect more ball possession,” he said. “I expect Ghana to rely on counterattacks because they are very physical, very fast and dangerous.”
England have established their own principles. “There will be different topics to take care of but without losing our momentum, without losing our passion,” Tuchel said. “We still need our spirit and to be courageous enough to go for it.”
