Once the rush to brand a television reporter a traitor for asking the sort of pointed questions his job demands has finally subsided — and ITV’s Gabriel Clarke is exceptionally skilled at that job — perhaps attention should turn to the question he chose not to ask.
Clarke’s post-match conversation with Thomas Tuchel following England’s gripping extra-time World Cup quarter-final win over Norway in Miami on Saturday night was nothing like the cautious, formulaic exchanges that so often follow major matches.
Tuchel spoke with passion and clarity. He was also plainly irritated by an England display rich in courage and resilience but short of rhythm, control and collective sharpness. He expected more from his side, and he was entitled to expect it.
That was fair. It was also candid. Jude Bellingham, when Tuchel’s comments were put to him, responded with the same directness and intelligence. England’s standout performer at this tournament questioned whether the manager fully appreciated the challenge of facing players such as Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in oppressive heat that seemed to drain the air from the lungs.
As an aside, that was exactly why Bellingham was so compelling. His instinctive pushback, his refusal to shrink from the moment, his sheer nerve — all of it was admirable. He is the most exciting development England have had in years. If there were once doubts about his body language or his demeanour towards team-mates, he has grown up at remarkable speed. When Harry Kane eventually steps aside, Bellingham should be England’s next captain.
Thomas Tuchel spoke with passion and clarity after the Norway match, but he was also visibly frustrated by an England performance full of fight yet lacking fluency and cohesion
Jude Bellingham’s instinctive defiance and fearlessness were hugely impressive. He is the best thing to happen to England in a very long time
None of this is a crisis. Tuchel and Bellingham have endured far tougher moments, as many will remember. A degree of creative friction between a manager and his players can even be useful before England’s biggest football match since that World Cup semi-final against West Germany 36 years ago.
But here’s the question Clarke didn’t ask Tuchel, perhaps because he thought it might be impertinent: If England were ‘sloppy, not enough precision, not enough repetitions, lots of technical mistakes’, whose fault is that? Isn’t that on the coach? Isn’t it the coach who needs to improve?
Tuchel was happy to accept there was no problem with the players’ mentality. And the players have proved at this World Cup that they are mentality monsters. Bellingham, especially, of course. But the rest of them, too. They have fought through adversity time after time.
No, the problem is not mentality or spirit or guts. The problem is in a lack of cohesion and what, at times, has looked like tactical confusion. England have not been purring. They played well for half an hour against Croatia in their opening game and they fought like lions against Mexico in the Azteca but have they played to their potential? Not even close.
So Tuchel can criticise the players all he wants. That is his right. He is a world-class coach. Maybe he’s trying to elicit more from them. Maybe he was using the interview with Clarke to get a message across. But it’s time he took a look at himself, too. England are in the last four at the World Cup. This is where England need him. This is what he was appointed for.
Gareth Southgate got England to the semi-finals of the World Cup, too, but he could not get England any further. He could not get England over the line. England lost to Croatia in the last four in 2018 and were knocked out by France in the quarter-finals in Qatar in 2022. Southgate could not take the final step.
Tuchel was brought in to change that. And now England are back in the semi-finals and Tuchel has, rightly, won praise for his game management against Mexico and for being more proactive with substitutions than Southgate ever was.
He has got England this far but this is Base Camp. This is where his job starts. This is the bit where we have to see the difference he makes. This is where he has to get England over the line.
Tuchel has got England this far but this is Base Camp. This is where his job starts
Gareth Southgate could not get England over the line. That is what Tuchel must now do
This is the bit where England have to find a way past Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Cristian Romero, Alexis Mac Allister and Argentina. And England are going to need more than guts to do that because Argentina have guts and togetherness and spirit, too.
Argentina have the beauty of Messi but they are a hard, nasty, physical team who are getting an awful lot of important decisions going their way. It feels as if it is a 50-50 match. It feels like a match where England will have to reach a level higher than they have in this tournament so far to win.
For England to win in Atlanta on Wednesday night, Tuchel is going to have to out-coach Lionel Scaloni. If his players have been sloppy and technically weak, as he says, then it is up to him to fix it.
He is the England coach. If he is unhappy with their technical standard, maybe he should not have left Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home. He should know his players by now. He should know their strengths and he should know their limitations. The buck stops with him.
Yes, his players made mistakes against Norway but so did he. He spent much of the second half trying to correct the error he made by bringing Eberechi Eze on for Declan Rice at the interval and altering Elliot Anderson’s role. England totally lost control of the game for half an hour.
That cannot be allowed to happen against Argentina or Argentina will take the game away. This has been a magical ride for England and their fans across Mexico and the USA. They are in the semi-finals of the World Cup for only the fourth time in their history. But this is a massive opportunity, too, and it cannot be allowed to slip away.
England’s players must be the best versions of themselves in Atlanta. For that to happen, Tuchel has to be the best version of himself, too. He was one of the best club coaches in the world when the FA snagged him. Now, he has to seize the moment with England. This is his time to show us the difference he can make.
Tuchel spent much of the second half against Norway trying to correct the error he made by bringing Eberechi Eze on for Declan Rice at the interval
This is the bit where England have to find a way past Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Cristian Romero, Alexis Mac Allister and Argentina
Why men’s tennis is in big trouble
When the men’s singles final at Wimbledon is contested by a player who tested positive for an anabolic steroid and an opponent who paid an out-of-court settlement to a former partner who accused him of domestic abuse, men’s tennis is in big trouble.
Only Novak Djokovic remains of the great foursome that also included Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray and what is coming after them is a poor imitation. The idea that we should be excited by the deeds of Jannik Sinner or Alexander Zverev leaves me cold.
Spare a thought for heartbroken Nyland
The most affecting image of the aftermath of England’s victory over Norway on Saturday did not involve England’s celebrations. The devastation of Orjan Nyland, the Norway goalkeeper, who had spilled a fierce shot from Morgan Rogers in the build-up to England’s winner, as he wept in the arms of his family, was a haunting vision of the impact of defeat.
