Thomas Tuchel’s First Five England Matches: Has the Football Improved?

England under Gareth Southgate were often described as ‘boring’ and ‘sluggish’ to watch, adjectives which unfortunately mirror the football in Thomas Tuchel’s first five England matches.

Before the appointment of the manager, some praised the FA’s choice to appoint him, citing Tuchel as a ‘world-class’ manager. However, five games into his reign, England have failed to impress once more, but what has gone wrong for the Three Lions?

Thomas Tuchel’s First Five England Matches: Uninspiring Football Producing the Necessary Results

Throughout Thomas Tuchel’s first five England matches, the Three Lions have won four matches, keeping a clean sheet in those four games.

They were defeated by Senegal. However, the match against the African opponents was an international friendly taking place at the City Ground.

Tuchel’s first match against Albania came with a necessary victory, defeating Albania 2-0.

However, in Lee Carsley’s final match in his interim spell in charge of the team, England defeated Ireland 5-0. Ireland are seven places above Albania in the FIFA world rankings, indicating Tuchel’s side should have scored more in this affair.

England did score one more goal in the following affair. However, opponents Latvia are ranked 137 in the world, and, with England boasting such a high level of talent in their side, many were expecting a ‘drubbing’ of their opponents on that day. Two of their goals came in the latter stages of the affair, only obtaining the advantage due to a magnificent Reece James free kick.

However, in the following affair, the standard of the opponent decreased once more, and so did the number of goals scored by England, with a slender 1-0 victory over Andorra. The performance was labelled ‘laclustre’ by Sky Sports, who highlighted Noni Madueke as one of the only credible performers from that affair.

Three days later, Senegal became the first African side to beat the Three Lions, winning 3-1 in a friendly at the City Ground. The likes of Ismaila Sarr and new Sunderland midfielder Habib Diarra managed to get on the scoresheet, impressing as the likes of Kyle Walker struggled hugely for England.

In the latest affair, England once again defeated Andorra, by a slightly bigger margin than previously, in a 2-0 win. However, one of England’s goals came via an own goal from the defender, and thus, at halftime, the match winners had played 135 minutes of football against a side ranked 174^th in the world, only scoring one goal via a Three Lions player.

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Evaluation

Whilst there is no doubting that in Thomas Tuchel’s first five England matches, the Three Lions have produced the results that have been required, the manner of the results and the performances have been similar to what fans had come to expect from Gareth Southgate.

Due to such a disparity in quality between Tuchel’s men and the sides which they have faced, many would be expectant of a higher winning margin in various matches, with an increased spark and excitement at the squad’s potential.

The German manager has managed to hand out player debuts in his time in charge to Dan Burn and, most recently, Elliott Anderson. However, some of the players that he has selected to return to the team have vast experience, yet bring questions with them, including Jordan Henderson.

Conclusion

The Three Lions under Tuchel have so far provided similar levels of entertainment to the reign of Gareth Southgate, with some even suggesting a slight hint of regression in the standard of football.

With the chaos of the World Cup looming over the players’ heads next summer, fans will be hoping that performance standards increase, with more excitement and assurances about England’s quality before the tournament gets underway.

Main Photo

Credit: IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Recording Date: 06.09.2025