Englannin voitto Andorraa vastaan paljasti Thomas Tuchelin huolen ja pelaajien todellisen tason
On the surface, England’s 2–0 win against Andorra looked as straightforward as they come. A clean scoreline, a professional job done, and another step forward. But for head coach Thomas Tuchel, the evening carried more questions than answers.
The scoreboard may have been tidy, but the performance peeled back layers of doubt about some of England’s brightest names. Against a side as modest as Andorra, the very lack of danger created the perfect testing ground: if you can’t shine when the stage is this safe, will you ever glow when the lights burn brightest?
Elliot Anderson: A Spark in the Darkness
There was at least one bright spot. Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, still carving out his space on the international stage, played with the hunger of someone determined to grab his chance. Tenacious, sharp, and full of energy, he impressed Tuchel so much that the usually measured German couldn’t help but repeat himself: “He was really, really good.”
For Anderson, this match felt like a breakthrough, a night where his relentless work ethic turned heads and — perhaps more importantly — earned Tuchel’s trust.
Eberechi Eze: A Flair Player Who Never Caught Fire
It was a different story for Eberechi Eze. One of Arsenal’s highly anticipated summer signings, the midfielder carried expectations of invention and flair. Instead, his performance floated by without leaving much of a mark. Operating in the central playmaker’s role, his touches lacked rhythm and his ideas fizzled before they could come to life.
Tuchel summed it up bluntly: Eze “wasn’t at his best.” Against Andorra, where freedom and opportunity should have abounded, Eze seemed oddly shackled. Perhaps he needs sharper opposition to ignite his creativity. Perhaps the occasion simply dulled his spark.
Noni Madueke: The Nearly Man
Arsenal teammate Noni Madueke had moments that caught the eye — bursts of pace, flickers of skill, a few bold attempts to carve open space. But that’s all they ever were: moments. The final ball was missing, the killer pass left wanting.
Madueke has the raw ingredients to become a force, but Tuchel made it clear he’s not there yet. Talent flickers, but in football, it’s not enough for sparks to fly; they have to light something bigger.
Marcus Rashford: Searching for Himself
The most unsettling subplot of the night concerned Marcus Rashford. Once the shining talisman of England’s forward line and even a cultural figure beyond football, Rashford looked subdued. There were brief flashes, reminders of what he once brought, but nothing sustained — nothing to silence the creeping sense of decline.
Tuchel was gentle but matter-of-fact: Rashford had “good moments,” but not much more. For a player of his stature, that reads less like encouragement and more like a warning.
Tuchel’s Test Lab
Here’s the bigger picture: Tuchel isn’t treating nights like this as casual warmups. He sees them as trial runs, sample tests for the future he’s trying to construct. Every cap, every rotation, every performance is weighed against the scale of bigger battles to come.
And that’s what turns a routine win against Andorra into something more significant. The comfortable setting, the lack of pressure — these environments reveal something important. They show who can create urgency when the stakes feel low, who manufactures their own fire even without the stimulus of a giant on the other side.
That’s the sort of test Tuchel values as much as a high-profile clash.
The Real Story Behind the 2–0
The win will disappear into the records, just another predictable step in qualification. But Tuchel saw it differently: a mirror that reflected cracks, not just strengths.
For Anderson, it was a night of validation; for Eze, Madueke, and Rashford, it was a sobering reminder that talent only matters when it translates onto the pitch.
England will face sterner tests soon enough — the kind of matches that will decide careers, legacies, and silverware. But Tuchel knows that when the spotlight is at its harshest, the players who matter most are those who lit their own flame long before.
In short: a win on the field, but a loss of certainty off it. For Tuchel, the work is just beginning.
👉 Do you want me to carry this same storytelling style forward to preview England’s upcoming matches — framing them as the “next act” in Tuchel’s unfolding project? That way, it flows like an ongoing narrative rather than just a one-off report.
