Why England need wingers with chalk on their boots – and how Thomas Tuchel plans to resurrect the dying art of dribbling

There were times at Wembley on Friday night, not least after an hour had passed, that you would not have been surprised had the cameras panned to Thomas Tuchel on the touchline and showed him unzipping his raincoat to reveal he was wearing a navy waistcoat underneath it all along.

For large parts of his first game in charge, this new England looked an awful lot like the old England. Pass, pass, pass, huff, huff, puff. It will take more than just a few training sessions holding hands, high-fiving and kicking balls into a dustbin to kick old habits.

There were clear signs, though, of what Tuchel wants – and none more so than out wide.

He might have lined up in the same 4-2-3-1 formation as his predecessor Gareth Southgate but his demands of his wingers were much different.

He wanted Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden to stay high and wide and immediately that gave England more shape and structure – especially down the left – than their lop-sided performance against Spain in the Euro 2024 final when right winger Bukayo Saka was often their only outlet.

England were more balanced, advanced and wide on Friday night, albeit against lesser opposition who sat deep all game.

It is, though, more than just a few training sessions holding hands for them to perform the way he wants them to

England were more balanced, advanced and wide in Thomas Tuchel’s first game as boss

Midfield runners will be crucial for the Three Lions if Harry Kane continues to drop deep

Within the first five minutes we saw why Tuchel wants them to stay wide. Ezri Konsa played a clipped ball over the top and Jude Bellingham and Curtis Jones came galloping through the middle into the box. Rashford and Foden’s width helped stretch the Albania back line with the full-backs unsure whether to stay wide with their man or tuck in, leaving space and uncertainty for Bellingham to exploit.

If Harry Kane continues to drop deep as he did under Southgate – and that was the case against Albania – those midfield runners will be crucial for Tuchel.

Rashford’s width on Friday night also enabled him, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Jude Bellingham to form triangles and rotate their position to try to confuse and draw out Albania’s deep defence.

Lewis-Skelly’s opening goal also came from a moment where Rashford had drifted infield, the Arsenal youngster had overlapped on the wing and Bellingham picked him out with a stunning pass.

In the end, though, Tuchel didn’t see enough from Rashford and Foden when they had the ball. For a manager who spent all week talking about aggressive, hungry football, he didn’t get it. ‘We hope for more impact in these positions,’ said Tuchel. ‘They were not as decisive as they can be.’

The numbers bear that out. Until they were subbed with 15 minutes to go, Rashford and Foden touched the ball 107 times between them but only attempted to beat their opponent on six occasions. Foden did it just once, failed to beat his man and even that was from a central position.

Are we about to see, then, the rebirth of the old-fashioned, chalk-on-your boots winger under Tuchel?

For so long, we have become used to seeing top Premier League managers using ‘inverted’ wingers – a left-footed wide man playing on the right or vice-versa.

Tuchel didn’t see enough from the returning Marcus Rashford when he had the ball

Phil Foden attempted to beat his man just once – failing – and that was from a central position

Phil Foden (left) and Marcus Rashford (right) were not as impactful as Tuchel had hoped

Mohammed Salah is deadly at it, picking the ball up on the right before he cuts inside and shoots with his left. Bukayo Saka does the same for Arsenal. Even Anthony Gordon who bombs down the wing for Newcastle is a right-footer playing on the left.

However, if you are a manager who wants his side to play faster, as Tuchel does, traditional wingers can play more to your advantage.

The right-footed Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga have been unleashed down Newcastle and Nottingham Forest’s right flank this season while recently even Pep Guardiola switched Savinho across to his stronger-footed left side.

Inverted wingers cutting inside, as Foden frequently did on Friday night, can slow play down, stop you moving quickly up-field and allow deep defences like Albania’s to reset their shape.

So, if Tuchel wants his wingers to get chalk on his boots and, as he keeps telling us, only has six training camps until the World Cup he needs to figure out who are the flying wide men he needs.

Foden cannot continue if Tuchel wants wingers to take bomb past their full-backs. That’s just not his game and once Saka returns he will have one of the Premier League’s best wingers at his disposal, even if he’s left-footed. 

Anthony Gordon struggled to get into the game and then picked up an injury late on

If Tuchel wants wingers who can beat their man, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze have completed the most dribbles of any English winger this season, though Rogers is hardly the kind of touchline-hugging rocket man the new man is after. West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen has carried the ball more often on occasions that have led to either a shot or a chance created.

Saka, despite missing a huge chunk of the season, has still combined for more goals and assists than any other predominant English winger. Newcastle’s Murphy sits only two behind him. 

He has some left-field options too. Only Morgan Rogers has attempted more dribbles in the Premier League this season than Ipswich’s Omari Hutchinson. The former Chelsea man has been playing more centrally this term but is at his best when taking on his man on the flank. Callum Hudson-Odoi and Noni Madueke have made things happen more than most when they have had the ball at their feet.

Tuchel has an array of options at his disposal. Now, it’s about finding the right ones.