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Is it finally coming home? We take a deep dive into the tactics, key player selections, and formations that give England a real chance of lifting the World Cup trophy. From the left-wing dilemma to Jude Bellingham's crucial role, this is the ultimate tactical breakdown.
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0:00
England are heading into another World Cup tournament with a heavy weight of expectation on their shoulders, but, and hear me out with this one, I think they could actually do it this time
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Hey, a little bit of positivity never hurt anyone, did it? From who to pick at left wing, the perfect choice for the number 10 rule and the real keys to victory at the World Cup
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I'm Jacob Horsfall, 442's resident tactician, and this is why England can win the World Cup
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The left wing position is a battle of two Barcelona stars, both the old and the new
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Both Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford look set to compete for Thomas Tuchel's left wing slot
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But how do they actually fit into that role? Well, the England left winger has a specific role
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They've got to be a runner, they've got to stretch the pitch and they've got to, most importantly, get in behind
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because at right wing, we've got Bikai Osaka, who's more controlled and more ball to feet
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Now, naturally, someone like Anthony Gordon feels like a pretty solid fit for that role
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Gordon has always been a relentless runner in behind. He'll get in behind the opposition's defence and then you'll shoot early and shoot very, very often
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No Newcastle player generated more XG than Anthony Gordon in the league last season
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Now, many may look at that and think, well, why wasn't Anthony Gordon Newcastle's top goal scorer in the Premier League
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And that's a very, very fair question. But if we look at his shot map
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eight of his 29 regular play shots came from fast break situations
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Those situations are high in XG because Gordon will be taking his shot from either inside the box or just outside
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But when you look at the whole context, he's running at 100 miles an hour. He's got a defender often on his shoulder or even in front of him
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and still got that goalkeeper to beat. So really, the situations aren't always the easiest to actually finish from
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However, in the England team, that ability to be a relentless runner, consistently get high value chances through that running, well, that's invaluable in tournament football
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But when we look at the team and we look at that left wing position, we don't just need a runner to have some success at this World Cup
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England's starting left back will likely be Nico O'Reilly, and he has a huge impact on how the left wing role actually works for England
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O'Reilly will not just get forward, but he will also want to make aggressive inverted runs into the box
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which means this winger needs to be multifaceted. Not only do we need the movement in beyond
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that goal-scoring capability to move in transition, we also need someone who can be a touchline winger at times
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someone who can stretch the pitch massively and be able to go on the outside. Stable possession will limit England's winger space
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to get in beyond the opposition's defence, so they'll need to thrive in tight conditions
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which is why for me Marcus Rashford is the best option. Rashford can be terrifying when he gets a
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defender 1v1 both on the inside in their sort of half space areas and on the outside when he's
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looking across the ball from the byline which England will need against those low block sides
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Rashford has attempted 4.38 dribbles per 90 in La Liga with just three other players averaging
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more successful dribbles than him. For me in the current setup that England have Marcus Rashford
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is the best fit to go at left wing. Now, if Lewis Hall had gone to the World Cup
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then I think Anthony Gordon could have had more of a say to get into this squad For me Lewis Hall is better than Nico O on the outside I would rather Lewis Hall be the width holder than Nico O which would allow Gordon to basically be that second striker
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be someone who basically, again, is a number nine. But the reality is we've got Nico O'Reilly
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and that's not a bad thing by any means. But because of his role as basically a second striker
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at large part of the season at Man City, you expect Rashford to be the better fit
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because he's better on the outside, he's better by the touchline and that is a beautiful dynamic to have for this World Cup
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Now, there will be certain scenarios where Gordon plays. I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if he starts the first game against Croatia
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in a game where England really need to set the tone, be really, really aggressive out of possession
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If you look at the England squad, you're expecting Gordon to be someone who potentially goes forward
4:00
to create almost a 4-4-2 with Harry Kane up front. But over the course of the whole tournament
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as sort of an average player selection, I think you take the benefit in possession over out of possession as England
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And therefore, Rashford and Nico O'Reilly just makes too much sense, doesn't it
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A moment of brilliance from Bellingham. The biggest debate on social media right now is should Jude Bellingham start at the World Cup
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Yes. Of course Jude Bellingham should be starting at the World Cup. It should not even be a question
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But it is, so we're going to address it. This is from the New Zealand game. Now, if we look at the players that England have got here, we've got Rashford
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leading the line, we've got Rio Engamoa off the right, we've also got Anthony Gordon coming a
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little bit narrow off the left. Funnily enough, the most advanced player here is the number 10
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Jude Bellingham, and that's going to be really important for England in the World Cup. Now
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you might ask, why is it important if our number 10 is in an advanced position? Well
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with the England team and the tendency for Harry Kane to drop deep, the number 10 has to be almost
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a second number 9, whilst also still being that midfield player. Jude Bellingham can do that role
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to a ridiculous standard. And he's proven that not just for England, but at club level for Real Madrid
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And I would argue that's probably part of the reason for why people don't rate Jude Bellingham
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as high as they should. Because he was such a good goal scorer a few seasons ago
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everyone holds him to this high standard of he should be a prolific scorer. But Bellingham's more than that
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Bellingham is everything. Bellingham can do the lot. And he should be valued like that
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in the England national team. So for me, he slots in as our number 10
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And I think he can be the star as always in this world. he's done it time and time again for England but I don't want to put down Morgan Rodgers role in
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this England team he can be a huge asset he's a ridiculous ball carrier and a chance creation
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machine he created the most chances in the Villa squad this season and completed the fourth most
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successful dribbles in the Villa squad as well he can be such a big asset especially off the bench
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and I think he's someone who if he was to play in the number 10 can do a lot of what Jude does in
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the positioning stuff in the ball carrying stuff that is Rodgers game really Thomas Tuchel said
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that Jude has competition for his spot, like anyone else, which is right, he does
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Jude Bellingham has competition. He's not gonna just swan into his team, no matter if I think he should
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if Gary Neville thinks he should, if you think he should, but something that gets him into this team
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is the big moments. No one else does it like Jude Bellingham
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The overhead kick to keep England alive in the last tournament the celebration that very swiftly followed that Jude brings some power in those big moments that inevitably you need to go and win the whole thing You need that player to step up
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grab the game by a scruff of the neck, outside of the system, outside of the tactics
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And that's what Jude Bellingham provides England. Away from that, both Bellingham and Rodgers
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bring what you want from an England number 10. They can both link up with Kane and the wingers
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whilst also matching the out-of-possession intensity of the deep-hand midfielders, Which takes us to the true core of this team
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Video aside for a second though, here's a hypothetical question for you. Imagine you're on your holidays during the World Cup or you're away for work and you can't get your World Cup fix
7:06
You've got your TV license sorted to watch the BBC when you're at home, but not when you're abroad
7:11
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7:34
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7:38
But for now, back to the video. The real cog in England's soon-to-be well-oiled machine comes in that midfield pivot
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The base of England's midfield will more than likely be Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, and that is so, so important
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England are at their best when Declan Rice is given the freedom to make an impact and influence the game in all thirds of the pitch
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Mikel Arteta recruited a deeper midfielder to allow Declan Rice to play further forwards
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As a result, last season he created the most chance in the Arsenal squad, yet he also had the most defensive contributions per 90
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Rice does everything, and he has the ability to literally play pretty much anywhere on the pitch
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But for me, we cannot limit him by having him sitting as the anchor. He has to be given the freedom to roam and influence the game in an attacking sense
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Which, ladies and gentlemen, is where Elliot Anderson comes in. The debates around Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton are completely understandable
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Because we've got two young, progressive, up-and-coming midfielders playing in England at the top level
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But the most important thing about a Rice partner is how they operate out of possession
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Anderson won the ball in the mid-third of the pitch more than anyone else in the Premier League this season
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With the England team in possession, you can expect Rice to step forward as almost a secondary number 10
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which will leave Elliot Anderson as the player sitting to try shut down attacks and recycle play
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For me, there's no one else in this England set-up, in England
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who can sit next to Rice and cover space as almost a lone anchor to the same level as Elliot Anderson
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He's just a joke in that sense. If you look at this season's heatmaps of Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice next to one another
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you see Anderson covering that hole mid-third width to width, whilst Rice looks to be pushing on and making those runs deeper up the pitch
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Now, in an England setting, this is definitely game-dependent. You know, you're not going to have Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice playing 90 minutes in every single game
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because that's not how knockout tournaments go. Against lower sides, when England are pushing on to try and get a goal
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whether it be Mexico in the knockouts or even Croatia in the first group stage game England are destined to have to make a change to get a goal late in the game They did it at the last knockout tournament with Cole Palmer coming on in the final for example
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That's where you get the argument for Adam Waterland. That's where it becomes its strongest because he is a ridiculous puncher through the lines
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He can play passes that not many other players can do in the final third
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But with these changes, you still need that strong base. And therefore, England's changes, Thomas Tuchel's changes, will have to be the right ones
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In this sort of game state, England will have pushed everyone on, whether it's the fullbacks holding the width, the wingers coming inside, Harry Kane's down the box, or maybe Ollie Watkins, whilst you've got the midfielders ramming the box as well
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Which is why I would replace Elliot Anderson with Kobe Mainu. The reason for that is, well, Mainu's attacking responsibility and almost an attacking profile in some ways isn't too far away from that of Declan Rice
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Kobe Mainu carries well he also combines nicely in those quick one twos and just like Declan Rice
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he has that something about him to get a decisive moment in the final third to have a create or
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score a goal himself on the other hand Rice dropping in to do the Anderson role also makes
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a lot of sense for me because he can do a lot of what Anderson does out of possession it may not be
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his best role over the course of the entire tournament but in games when England are really
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pushing for a goal having Mayanou and Rice two pretty creative attacking type of number eights
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in the team is worth sacrificing maybe Rice not being his 100% best position maybe sacrificing a
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little bit stability in transition because they're the sacrifices that have got to be made to go and
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win a tournament now when you talk about winning the tournament you've got to look at the England squad and a lot of the England squad has already brought a ton of controversy before a ball has
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even been kicked. But if we look at this squad as a whole, there's something really nice here
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You have complementary partnerships all over that starting XI, and then you've got almost
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like-for-likes in many important positions if replacements are needed. Morgan Rodgers and
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Jude Bellingham can do very similar jobs. Gordon and Rashford can also do very similar jobs. And
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then you've also got your change layer. You've got Nari Madiweke to replace Pakao Saka, who offers
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something entirely different. You've got Oli Watkins to replace Harry Kane, who is on the opposite
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end of a striker spectrum to Harry Kane. Don't get me wrong, I would love Adam Wharton to be there
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and Cole Palmer wouldn't be a miss either, but what's the point in complaining about the 26th
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man? This is the starting 11 that I suspect Tuka will find being his go-to team, and for me
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there's quality in abundance. The connectivity between the players in possession is encouraged
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by how complementary those players actually are to one another. Now, England's route to a potential
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final will be a very very long one especially when you consider the fact that the media don't
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leave these England players alone they couldn't take a breath without a report coming out about
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them so for them to even have a chance for them to even be appreciating the way they should be
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they're gonna all have to be at their top top form at their very very best to be in them with a chance
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of winning this World Cup so can they go and get the job done yeah of course they can we've got to
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believe you can't sit here as an English fan and say it's not coming home because it is isn't it
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I've been Jacob Horsfall this has been 442 and we'll see you all next week for more brilliant
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content like and subscribe guys
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