ALEX CROOK: 5 things we learned from England

It was a solid if not spectacular start to the Thomas Tuchel era as England recorded comfortable back-to-back wins over minnows Albania and Latvia without conceding a goal. But what did we really learn from Tuchel’s first two matches in charge, asks Star Sports football ambassador ALEX CROOK.

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Lewis-Skelly’s teenage kicks

Arsenal sensation Myles Lewis-Skelly offered Tuchel an immediate solution to a long-standing England headache.

Taking a half-fit Luke Shaw to the Euros was a massive error by Gareth Southgate and left the whole squad unbalanced.

It was only when Shaw was able to start the final against Spain that England had any real direction down their left side.

Not only did Lewis-Skelly become the Three Lions’ youngest ever debutant goalscorer, but he looked instantly at home on the international stage.

The 18-year-old also impressed his new teammates with the way he conducted himself in the camp.

He is now in pole position to make that position his own between now and next summer.

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Foden continues to be a conundrum

Phil Foden’s puzzling International form remains a major issue for whoever is in the England dugout.

Tuchel took a leap of faith not only by naming Foden in his maiden squad, despite an indifferent season at Manchester City, but putting him straight into the team.

It was no surprise that Foden lost his place for the second game against Latvia after a woeful display in the 2-0 win over Albania.

Even when Foden was firing on all cylinders at City and sweeping the boards at last season’s Premier League Player of the Year Awards, he was unable to hit the same heights in an England jersey.

With Jude Bellingham, England’s go-to man in Foden’s preferred number ten role, it’s hard to make a case for continuing to shoe-horn him into the side.

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Gibbs-White may struggle to make the World Cup cut.

If Morgan Gibbs-White was under the impression Tuchel didn’t fancy him after being left out of the German’s original squad, then his lack of minutes during these two games would have only added to that anxiety.

Gibbs-White was only called up belatedly after Cole Palmer was forced to withdraw with injury, and his initial omission was one that baffled both Nottingham Forest fans and rival supporters alike.

The Forest captain then found himself watching from the stands after failing to even make the bench against Albania.

The fact Gibbs-White did not play a single minute after being named as substitute against Latvia suggests he faces an uphill task to win around his new manager.

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Dan Burn the born-leader

Dan Burn’s England debut divided opinion, with some newspaper columnists and radio pundits suggesting his lack of pace left him exposed at international level.

It is true that Albanian substitute Armando Broja seemed to have his number after coming off the bench, but I still thought the Newcastle man was solid enough overall.

His height will also cause havoc for international defenders, and he was unlucky not to follow up his Carabao Cup final goal with another on his three Lions bow when heading against the crossbar.

One of the main reasons Tuchel plumped for Burn at this late stage in his career was his character and leadership skills, which many felt the dressing room was lacking towards the end of Gareth Southgate’s tenure.

It is no coincidence Burn was namechecked by England Harry Kane when discussing the leadership before Tuchel had even put in his team sheet for the Albania game.

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Lack of quality opposition not helping Tuchel’s cause to excite the fans

In one of his first press conferences, Thomas Tuchel promised to introduce a more exciting brand of football, but that was lacking in both his first two games in charge.

Ultimately, the performances were very similar to what England regularly produced in qualifying under Gareth Southgate.

Met by two teams lacking in quality and determined to sit and frustrate, England were never likely to be banging in goals for fun.

It will be the same story when England go to Andorra for their next qualifier in the summer and while Serbia should pose more of a challenge, especially away from home, this is still a group England expect to breeze through.

The friendlies against Senegal and Wales are also not much of a step up in quality of opposition compared to what they are likely to face in the knockout stages in North America.

With so few training sessions before the World Cup it makes Tuchel’s attempts to transform the playing style that much more difficult.

In truth, we will only really get a barometer of how different this era will be once the tournament itself gets underway, and probably then only at the business end of proceedings.

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