Thomas Tuchel has voiced his belief that England’s own ball‑play turned them into a danger to themselves in their 3‑2 loss to Spain. The Three Lions committed a series of pivotal errors against the reigning world and European champions on Saturday, ultimately paying for those lapses with goals from Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal. After a World Cup qualifying campaign in which England kept a clean sheet throughout, Tuchel’s side have now conceded nine goals across their last three senior internationals – against Argentina, France and Spain. While the defensive frailties exposed by elite opponents have raised eyebrows, Tuchel insists that the problem does not lie in the team’s defensive shape.
Instead, he points to the mistakes made while England were in possession, especially during the deep‑building phases of the game. “It isn’t a major worry yet,” Tuchel told reporters ahead of England’s upcoming Nations League clash with the Czech Republic on Tuesday. “When you look at the organised, block and active defending we displayed, we were operating at a higher level than in many other matches.” He added that, if you isolate the defensive structure and the way the units performed, he was largely satisfied and felt the side had taken a step forward.
The manager, however, was blunt about the ball‑related issues. “We suffered clearly from individual mistakes when we had the ball, particularly in the deeper build‑up,” he said. “That is something we cannot afford to repeat at this level. Oddly enough, when we possessed the ball we were the biggest danger to ourselves around the box because we made too many isolated errors.
Purely from a defensive standpoint I have no concerns and I trust we can sort it out.” Tuchel’s comments come amid a wave of criticism aimed at his tactical approach during England’s World Cup semi‑final defeat to Argentina, where he chose to sit back and protect a one‑goal lead rather than push for a second. In the aftermath, he suggested that England’s footballing DNA does not naturally revolve around ball possession the way it does for Spain or the South American‑Brazilian blend. “Possession plays a crucial role, but it’s perhaps not in our DNA the way it is in Spanish or Argentine‑Brazilian football,” he observed after the exit. “You take the ball, you control the game – that’s a different mindset.” Despite the scrutiny, Tuchel believes his players displayed the English identity during the Wembley showdown with Luis de la Fuente’s side.
“There was a lot of discussion before the Spain game,” he noted. “I think we showed our style and our courage. The players expressed an identity throughout the 90 minutes.” He acknowledged the self‑inflicted errors, saying, “We gave them many problems, but we also created problems for ourselves with individual mistakes.
Mistakes happen; they shouldn’t, but they did.” Yet he also highlighted the positives: “We had the world and European champions on the brink of defeat. In the decisive moments we played our best football.
Even when we were a goal ahead we kept attacking, becoming even more dominant and threatening.” Tuchel admitted that the team’s momentum stalled towards the end of the match, partly because of those errors, but he remained optimistic about the overall performance. “We were a little bit self‑responsible for the break in momentum towards the end, but overall we have a lot of positives to take away.” Looking ahead, England’s schedule includes a home Nations League fixture against the Czech Republic on Tuesday, September 29, at 7.45 pm, followed by an away match against Croatia on October 3 at 5 pm, and a return clash with the Czechs on October 6 at 7.45 pm. Fans can follow the Czech Republic versus England live via Sky Sports’ match blog and app, and a Q&A session with Sky Sports News England reporter Rob Dorsett is planned for Tuesday morning, inviting supporters to submit their questions. In summary, while England’s defensive framework appears solid according to Tuchel, the manager emphasizes that the real issue lies in the quality of ball‑play and decision‑making in possession.
Reducing individual errors, especially during deep build‑up, will be essential if England hopes to compete consistently against the world’s elite. The upcoming Nations League fixtures will serve as a crucial testing ground for these adjustments, offering Tuchel an opportunity to refine his side’s approach and demonstrate that the Three Lions can combine defensive resilience with compositional confidence on the ball.