Paul Merson says England will have no chance of winning the World Cup playing high-tempo Premier League football.
New England head coach Thomas Tuchel took charge of his first game against Albania on Friday, when debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly justified his selection with the opening goal and a man-of-the-match display.
All-time top scorer Harry Kane completed a 2-0 victory as the road to next summer’s World Cup got off to a winning start that England look set to continue when Latvia, ranked 140th in the world, head to Wembley on Monday.
However, Merson thinks England need to try and implement new tactics to have any chance of lifting the World Cup in 2026.
“Tuchel has said he wants to play the Premier League way,” Merson told Soccer Saturday. “He wants to press and play with a high tempo.
“The problem is we are going to play at a World Cup in a country where it is going to be hot. The humidity will be unbearable in some of the places they play.
“I would have gone the other way. He has seen England play enough times and he will know we don’t keep the ball well enough.
Rob Dorsett and Sam Blitz react to England’s win over Albania and discuss what Thomas Tuchel could change in his second game in charge
“We need to start keeping the ball better and being patient.
“The Wembley crowd need to get onside a bit more too,” he added.
“The fans may need a slight re-think too. They are coming down to Wembley wanting to see action. They don’t want to see control and a 1-0 win. They are getting action watching their teams play in the Premier League. That is why we love it so much because there can be a corner at one end, and a shot 30 seconds later at the other end.
“But England need to start changing the way they play. They need to be patient and keep the ball.
Thomas Tuchel led England to a 2-0 victory over Albania at Wembley in his first game in charge
“I’ve been there. The team knock the ball around at the back and the crowd go mad. They want the ball forward and quickly, and then the players panic and give it away.
“We have to be more patient. If we aren’t patient and we don’t have the ball, we have no chance at the World Cup.
“We didn’t keep the ball at the Euros and in the end we were punished. We have to do that better.”
‘Lewis-Skelly can go on to get 90 England caps’
England’s Myles Lewis-Skelly celebrates scoring the opener against Albania
Tuchel praised “amazing” history-making debutant Lewis-Skelly, with the left-back becoming the nation’s youngest-ever goalscoring debutant at the age of 18 years and 176 days.
Lewis-Skelly met a beautiful, defence-splitting Jude Bellingham pass with a smart finish to set England on their way, and Merson was full of praise for the Arsenal defender’s performance.
Merson said: “It’s very hard to explain what Myles-Lewis Skelly is doing at this age.”
“To play at the top level at 18 at Arsenal, where you are playing under severe pressure every week, this lad has confidence. At Arsenal, you have to win every week and he’s coping with that pressure.
England captain Harry Kane and midfielder Declan Rice hail the performance of 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly who scored on his debut against Albania
“He’s unbelievable. Remember, at academy level he was playing centre midfield. Now he has moved to left-back and not really broken a sweat.
“The thing that made his goal was the run off the ball. He’s willing to run without the ball. For an 18-year-old to be doing that at international level, that is what is unbelievable.
It’s not the finish, but when he’s seeing the space to run into, when he’s seeing the picture of Jude Bellingham having the ball, ready to pass. Making the run, that’s what is clever from Lewis-Skelly.
“It’s top, top drawer. He’s a player you can see playing for England, 70, 80, 90 times.”
‘Foden and Rashford won’t get too many more chances’
Foden has zero goal contributions in each of his last 17 outings for England
Despite the win over Albania, Tuchel has plenty to ponder after a winning start that left him wanting more, with the head coach mentioning a variety of kinks that need ironing out.
England’s wingers were among those issues given Marcus Rashford, who made his first international appearance since last March, and Phil Foden were not as “impactful” as the new coach wanted.
The latter is an ongoing conundrum given the talented 44-cap forward has rarely – as the player has previously admitted himself – taken his Manchester City form to the international stage as he stretched his run without a goal involvement for England to 17 games.
Merson believes both Foden and Rashford won’t have too much longer to impress Tuchel.
He said: “With what Tuchel said about Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden, I don’t think they’ll have too many more chances.
The Saturday Social panel make their predictions and debate which players from Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad will go to the 2026 World Cup
“They’ll probably play in the next game and he’ll be thinking he’s had a bit of a go at them, and he’ll want to see how they respond.
“If they don’t perform against Latvia, he’ll say see you later. But it’s not easy playing for England against teams that put 10 players behind the ball. You are better off playing against France where you’d be a better player.
“Everywhere Tuchel has been, he’s not been there very long. He goes in and he’s not worried about upsetting people.
“By the time everyone has had enough of him, he’s gone.
“That’s what England need but it’s not going to be easy. I still think down the line we will be thinking what an unbelievable job Gareth Southgate did with England.”
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