The wild England fan appears and seemingly shouts in your ears that it is finally coming home. That football is coming home. It is quite ironic how the song written about thirty years of hurt in 1996 is turning 30 itself in 2026. England, however, are still trophyless. But that has never dampened the spirits one bit, with the chants of “It’s coming home” echoing every single year.

The buzz around England has been comparatively subdued, courtesy of the lack of stars in the squad selected by coach Thomas Tuchel. The squad came as a shock to fans, with the likes of Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Phil Foden missing. One could easily see it becoming one of England’s most disastrous campaigns in recent times, but the critics have been kept silent so far, especially after the 4-2 and 2-0 wins against Croatia and Panama respectively. Thomas Tuchel seems to know the sort of system he wants his team to play, and the players seem to fit the roles his system demands.

The Harry Kane problem

Previously, most managers throughout his career have simply thought of him as a proper number 9, the type who lurks in the box and scores goals for a living. However, since his move to Bayern, the positional freedom has unlocked a different version of Kane, one that makes you question whether he had been underutilised all these years. His passing ability has always been top-notch, but you do not really make too many passes in the box. Since playing under Vincent Kompany at Bayern, Kane has developed a habit of dropping deep, often between the two centre-backs, pulling them out and creating space for the wingers.

Under Gareth Southgate, the problem was that neither was happening. Kane would often be isolated up front, with England failing to provide any real supply. Even if Kane dropped deep to get a desperate touch, it still would not matter because the wingers did not make runs behind the defenders, so the space would never be exploited.

Thomas Tuchel has identified the problem and created a system that revolves around the England star. While the exclusions of Palmer and Foden make you question, the ones included in their place actually offer more answers. Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford are all wingers with explosive pace, able to match Kane’s passing prowess when he drops deep. Their athleticism means that they fit Tuchel’s system better, even if they are not the most talented players in those positions.

The set-piece and Arsenal influence

At its core, set pieces are an aspect of football that can be practised, perfected and will always lead to a goalscoring chance. In recent times, Arsenal have taken set pieces quite seriously, scoring 27 goals from dead balls. The influence has been significant on English football, with Premier League teams scoring 296 goals from set pieces in the 2025/26 season. This England side has been filled with tall, physically strong players to dominate corners and free kicks. Declan Rice, who has been stellar with his set-piece deliveries, has already assisted once from the corner spot at this World Cup when Harry Kane headed the ball in to put England in the lead against Croatia.

Defensive vulnerabilities and injury concerns

In addition to the wingers, the English wing-backs would often make forward runs, coming into central spaces to create overloads in a 3-1-6 formation, with Rice dropping between the centre-backs. This meant that England were left vulnerable on the counter, with a 3v3 situation imminent. Moreover, with Tino Livramento and now Reece James injured, England are left with no traditional right-backs. This has forced them to play one of their centre-backs in the right-back position. The system in play requires intensity on both flanks, and it remains to be seen whether the wing-backs can sustain that pressure. Another major setback is the injury concerns surrounding Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, who are said to have been playing through injuries and carrying them into matchdays.

Despite having left some of the bigger names back home, the England squad is stacked with world-class players like Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and more. The squad’s quality is evident, and Thomas Tuchel has always been a great manager in knockout football. The system in place is yet to be tested against a top contender, but the early signs from the group stage give hope that this England team will go far in the tournament. But as Sir Alex Ferguson said, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles”, and for football to finally come home, the defensive problems need to be addressed.