The tall hooded figure kept barking instructions under a hot Missouri sun. Thomas Tuchel was looking for perfection as preparations for Ghana geared up. England’s head coach watched from a distance at first but it was not long before he was making sure the training drill was up his standards.
Tuchel, wearing a hoodie to protect himself from the UV rays, loomed over a group made up of Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford, Djed Spence and Ollie Watkins. This was a rare peek behind the curtain. At international tournaments there are days when journalists are allowed to watch 15 minutes of open training. They are often anodyne experiences, limited to a bit of jogging around, maybe a glimpse of a rondo if you’re lucky, but there was more insight at England’s base in Kansas City on Saturday morning. Mannequins were carefully arranged in four zones and it soon became clear there is no hiding place when Tuchel is watching.
The German is a perfectionist who has been known to measure the height of the grass used at training. “If he sees something that he doesn’t like he calls it out,” Dan Burn said when he spoke to the media later in the day. The honesty is refreshing, the clarity welcome. On this occasion the focus seemed to be on England accelerating the play and moving through the lines. The players were passing through the mannequins. They could only take two touches. They needed to go through the middle at first, work on enticing the press and give and go before turning out to shifting the ball wide, but Tuchel was quick to move over when he spotted one group in need of some advice.
Tuchel is big on players controlling the ball with the correct foot in training. He wants everyone to know the favoured foot of every teammate on the pitch. It sounds logical. It speeds up the play and when Tuchel wandered over to Anderson, Bellingham, Spence, Gordon and Rashford it was possible to see the intensity go up.
Holding a whistle in his right hand, Tuchel was loudly telling players which foot to use to control passes. There was a moment when he zoned in on Spence, telling the full-back to wake up. “Open up,” he said. “It’s been five minutes already, Djed. Come on!”
The cajoling was relentless and the level went up. England were pushing it in the heat and the mind went back to the first half of their opening game against Croatia last Wednesday. The roof was shut at the Dallas Stadium and England struggled to beat the press during the first half. They played themselves into trouble and twice lost the lead, only to blow Croatia away with an astonishing burst of attacking football after half-time.
The aim is to play like a Premier League side: with speed, intensity and physicality. Historically, though, England have struggled with teams pressing them high. It comes down to technique. Tuchel makes it sound easy. If a left-footer receives the ball on their correct foot it makes it easier to open up the body, pass beyond an opponent, get England on the attack and use the pace of their forward players.
No wonder England’s players talk about how much they learn from Tuchel. The buy-in is total, although there is room for levity. There is basketball on offer at the team hotel. Backgammon has been on the agenda and Burn has been trying to work out how to play Wolf, a long-running card game inside the camp. “I’ve been watching a few of them before getting in there, trying to work out who the best liars are,” the big Newcastle defender said.
The players had a day off on Friday. Harry Kane and Jason Steele, the training goalkeeper, joined Burn at an Ella Langley gig. “I like country music, so I had a cowboy hat on and cowboy boots,” Burn said. “If you’re going to do it, do it properly. Ella is an amazing country artist, so it was nice that we get to do those things. Then today it’s focused back on football.”
The demands are high. While Tuchel watched the passing drill his No 2 threw himself into the action. Anthony Barry pressed and was also blasting out a stream of instructions. It was Barry who did the half-time interview with ITV and delivered a searing critique of England’s first 45 minutes against Croatia. The Liverpudlian did not hold back, saying there was a nervous energy from the team.
Burn, who first came across Barry when the 40-year-old was cutting his teeth as a young coach at Wigan Athletic, was not surprised. “There’s no grey areas with Baz and the manager,” he said. “The one thing that I really do like about them is that they just say it how there is. They’re not going to beat around the bush. That’s all you want as a player. You just want that honesty.”
England have it with Tuchel and Barry’s double act. The players will hear about it whenever they dare to slow down.