It didn’t take long for the Thomas Tuchel effect to be felt. By the time six minutes had been played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under the – seemingly quite grumpy – eye of the new England head coach, two English players had scored with excellent finishes, Dominic Solanke with a plunging header and Anthony Gordon with a calm angled shot. If there were concerns about Gordon’s positioning for Solanke’s goal, they could be excused in the context of a generally excellent defensive performance from Newcastle.
Nine of the starters were England-qualified, even with James Maddison on the bench. Of most interest to Tuchel, perhaps, would have been a Newcastle pairing with which he is already familiar. It was Tuchel who gave Lewis Hall his full Chelsea debut, starting him on the left of a back three in a 5-1 FA Cup win over Chesterfield in 2022. Later that year, around a month before Tuchel was sacked, Chelsea had a £40m bid for Gordon rejected by Everton. Newcastle’s left flank is the left side Chelsea could have had and the left side England might favour in the future.
Hall certainly has the opportunity to become England’s first-choice left-back for a decade or so and while Gordon has more obvious competition further forward on that flank he is the most direct of the candidates, the only one who really gives an option running in behind. Hall’s emergence can’t hurt his chances; for national sides, pre-existing club coalitions can be a valuable shortcut towards mutual understanding. At right‑back, Tino Livramento must be under consideration.
Archie Gray, meanwhile, despite struggling with sickness, produced a composed and mature performance that can only have enhanced his credentials, maybe not now and maybe not at centre-back, but perhaps before too long.
There is a clear vacancy for a back-up to Harry Kane, possibly with a view to replacing him in the medium-to-long term – although the fact Tuchel’s contract runs only to the World Cup means his focus is likely to be on the here-and-now. Ollie Watkins is the man in possession, but he has not been at his best this season. Liam Delap may be emerging as a candidate, but Solanke did his cause no harm, not just with the strength and movement that brought his goal, but in his general play.
It may be that none of these players start Tuchel’s first game as England head coach, against Albania in March, but there will definitely be games he attends where he sees fewer options. Next up: a trip to Brighton v Arsenal on Saturday evening.
