England‘s years of hurt will not be stopping at 60, after they were knocked out of the 2026 World Cup.
The Three Lions were beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-finals, despite taking a 1-0 lead into the final 10 minutes. Within a matter of minutes, the inquests started, with Thomas Tuchel suffering a lot of criticism for his role in the defeat.
Tuchel’s future was even thrown into doubt, though the FA appear happy to stick with the German for the rest of his contract. So Tuchel will start planning for the 2028 European Championships, which England will co-host.
Before they get there, though, England have a lot of questions they need to answer if they are end stop the years of hurt at 62.
Questions England need to answer
Should Thomas Tuchel be England manager?
Tuchel came under a lot of fire for England’s World Cup exit. He was seen as the main reason for the defeat to Argentina, due to negative substitutions after taking the lead. The decision to replace Anthony Gordon with Ezri Konsa after the second-half hydration break was the beginning of the end.
England had decided to sit back against a team that came from two goals down late on in the last-16. They had learned nothing from Egypt‘s loss to Argentina, and approached the defending world champions as they did Norway and Mexico. That was a big mistake, with Tuchel at the head. But more on England’s style later.
Tuchel has taken charge of 22 games for England across all competitions, since taking charge at the start of 2025. He has won 17 of those, with just two draws and three defeats. Two of those defeats came in friendlies, with the semi-final exit England’s first competitive loss under Tuchel.
Following the final whistle against Argentina, talk of Tuchel’s England future started. According to reports, there was a clause in his contract that would have opened discussions on his future should England have been knocked out before the quarter-finals — with the exception of a last-16 defeat to Mexico. As none of that happened, Tuchel appears set for Euro 2028. But that may not be a good thing.
Just one foreign manager has led a team to glory at the European Championships. German Otto Rehhagel is the sole man to achieve the feat, in charge of Greece as they won Euro 2004. Fans may feel that Tuchel is more likely to follow every other foreign manager at the Euros, rather than mimic compatriot Rehhagel.
Can England manage without Harry Kane?
England have a bit of a Harry Kane problem. The striker is England’s all-time leading goalscorer and someone they know they can rely on. He scored six goals to help England reach the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup. But England may be a bit too reliant on him.
Only Marc Guehi (662) and Jordan Pickford (660) played more minutes for England at the World Cup this summer than Kane’s 653. Prior to the third-placed play-off, Kane had only missed seven minutes of action in the final group stage game against Panama.
While it is handy to have a player you can rely on, England use Kane too much. He was virtually ineffective in both the quarter-final and semi-final, due to fatigue. With the way he plays now, Kane cannot drop deep to link up with the wingers as well as get into the box to finish off the moves. And it isn’t just a problem for Tuchel.
Kane hasn’t scored an open-play goal at the World Cup past the last-16. And two of his four in the European Championships came from penalties (or rebounds from a saved penalty). The main issue is a lack of trust in the support.
Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney both had good domestic seasons ahead of the World Cup. Watkins scored 21 goals across all competitions, while Toney netted 42. But the pair weren’t even given a chance to take a shot. When they did play in the third-place play-off, the lack of gametime showed as they both struggled.
Jude Bellingham did his best to support Kane, bettering the striker with seven goals at the tournament. But even he suffered from fatigue as one of England’s most-used players.
What England need are attacking wingers, who can fill the gap left by Kane in the box when the ball comes in from the opposing flank. It’s something they have done well in the past with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling, and a plan Tuchel needs to put in place over the next two years.
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Do England have a full-back plan?
Another problem position for England at this summer’s World Cup was at full-back. Reece James and Tino Livramento were the initial right-back picks, but the latter had to be replaced before the tournament due to injury.
There lies England’s biggest problem. Tuchel’s top two right-back picks struggle with injuries. Before the World Cup, Livramento had already missed 36 games across all competitions due to injury. James, meanwhile, has missed 84 games since the start of the 2023-24 season. Three of those matches came at the World Cup this summer. He picked up an injury in training and missed the game with Panama. He didn’t make it back for the first two knockout stage games, and was a substitute against Norway.
When James did finally start again, he had to come off injured late on against Argentina. Fortunately Djed Spence has had an excellent tournament and was a more-than capable deputy. But even he was a surprise pick following his club season.
Similar questions were asked of Tuchel’s left-back position. O’Reilly had had a good end to the season for Manchester City but was being thrown in at the deep end. And there was no Lewis Hall in sight. O’Reilly had his moments at the World Cup but was outshone by Spence, who looked to be first-choice when he wasn’t playing right-back. O’Reilly particularly struggled against Norway, which saw him lose his place in the starting lineup to face Argentina.
Favouring flexiblity over quality can be understood for major tournaments. But a focus on the latter might be better for England. Hall would thrive with a long run of being England’s first-choice left-back, while the Three Lions work out what to do on the right. Surely Trent Alexander-Arnold will be back in the conversation?
Should Jordan Pickford still be England No.1?
Jordan Pickford is a polarising figure for England. He has been a fine servant for both Gareth Southgate and Tuchel. But fans have always spoken about wanting better.
No player has made more errors leading to goals in the Premier League since the start of the 2016-17 season than Pickford. The goalkeeper has made 23 errors leading to goals for Everton, six more than any other player. After England’s defeat to Argentina, clips surfaced of complaints about their first goal, which looked pretty central. Arguments of a shot Pickford should have been able to stop arose, as they seem to do at every major tournament.
Only three goalkeepers had a worst negative goals prevented total than Pickford at the 2026 World Cup. He conceded eight goals from 5.36 post-shot Expected Goals conceded, for a total of -2.64. Two of the goalkeepers worse than Pickford went out in the group stage, while the other only made it to the last-32.
The main problem for England, though, is who replaces him? Many are looking at James Trafford as the long-term replacement, given his success at youth level for England. He also had a strong season in lifting Burnley out of the Championship in 2024-25, but that came after Premier League struggles. Trafford also needs to find a new club to get regular football, with Gianluigi Donnarumma ahead of him at Man City.
Dean Henderson is the other choice, and he had slightly better save numbers than Pickford in the Premier League in 2025-26. But, much like Kane’s backups, a lack of England action counts against him. He was the man in goal for the 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off. Henderson is also 29, so won’t be a long-term goalkeeping option. For now it seems like Pickford will continue in goal for England, unless Trafford makes the right career move and performs consistently.
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How should England play?
One of the biggest criticisms of Southgate was his style of play. It was deemed far too defensive for an England team looking to win a major trophy. Tuchel’s arrive was meant to change that. But it has actually regressed slightly.
Under Southgate, England averaged 54.1% possession at the 2018 World Cup, and upped that to 63.58% in 2022. Tuchel’s England have averaged 54.03% this summer – a big drop from the run to the quarter-finals four years ago. That’s hurt by the way England have played when going ahead, allowing opponents to control the possession and test the Three Lions’ defence.
Tuchel put that blame on England’s DNA, comparing to other possession-heavy sides.
He said: “I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball.”
The stats aren’t a pretty sight to read, not including the third-place play-off.
England’s woes when defending a lead
Naturally, their shape put England much deeper when they were winning games. But things looked a little less structured, as shown by their average positions when leading. Rather than looking to control possession, England were happy to sit back and invite pressure on their defence. With the acception of the bizarre third-place play-off.
When England were level or behind, they averaged 512.17 passes attempted per 90 minutes. That’s the 10th-highest average at the World Cup, which showed England’s intent to be on the ball. However, the Three Lions only averaged 302.5 attempted passes when they were leading matches. Only 12 teams averaged lower, and that includes the likes of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Uzbekistan and Haiti, who didn’t spend much time in the lead.
Tuchel’s side faced just 5.96 shots per 90 when they were drawing or losing games, as they took control of the ball. But when they were ahead, that number jumps to 16.79 shots faced per 90. Again, it placed them alongside unwanted company of the teams who were desperately trying to hold onto shock leads.
For contrast, Spain averaged just 6.21 shots faced per 90 when winning matches at the World Cup. It wasn’t much difference from their 5.24 faced when drawing or trailing. Argentina have welcomed slightly more shots when ahead, but even that’s still a respectable 8.88 per 90. Spain also averaged more passes when leading games (552,7 per 90), than England did when they were drawing or losing. It’s a similar story for Argentina too, averaging 513.86 passes when ahead.
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