'Not happy with the performance' - so why do England keep winning?

England advanced to the World Cup semifinals after a hard-fought quarter-final victory against Norway on Saturday. However, manager Thomas Tuchel voiced significant concerns about his team's performance, stating, "We made life very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic but I'm not happy with the performance."

“

We made life very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic but I'm not happy with the performance.

Tuchel acknowledged the players' effort, team spirit, and belief in overcoming adversity, but as a football coach, he believes the team can play better. He pointed to numerous momentum swings during the match and described the team's play as "sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough." The manager's desired style of play, which he outlined when selecting his squad, emphasizes dominating possession, aggressive pressing, deliberate passing to draw out opponents, and then accelerating play to find forwards. Against defensive blocks, he wants attacks down the flanks with wide triangles and rotations.

“

I'm impressed with the effort, team spirit and belief to overcome adversity.

Tuchel's critique focused heavily on England's play on the ball against Norway's 4-5-1 defensive shape. He specifically mentioned the team was "not repetitive enough," likely referring to a lack of sustained spells of short passing intended to create space. This strategy, which he has previously encouraged by telling players to "play short, short, short" before looking for a "long switch," aims to open up opportunities for attackers.

“

But I am also a football coach and I think we can play better. We had a lot of momentum swings for both teams. We made life difficult in the way we played, sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.

Despite these criticisms, England continues to win. The question remains: if the team isn't playing to its full potential, why do they keep securing victories? This suggests that beyond tactical execution, England possesses other qualities, such as resilience, a strong winning mentality, or the ability to capitalize on key moments, that are enabling their continued success in the tournament.

“

England were 'not repetitive enough'.