With an extended international break across September/October, England took part in 4 of their 6 Nations League group games, and produced some solid performances across their matches. With 3 wins out of 4, 3 clean sheets and 14 goals scored, they pitted themselves against the current World champions, and dominated against some of the other sides in the group.

As a result of this setup to the break, we’ve seen more from this England side than normal in the breaks, and as a result, we’ve put together 3 of the main thoughts and talking points noticed from across the games that England can look at as both positives and things to continue building on as the Tuchel era heads towards another major tournament in 2028.

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World Cup Hangover

While England could claim the 3rd place playoff to be their ‘hangover’ game, there was a concern about England returning to action, with questions over Tuchel and whether he should have stepped away after their World Cup exit, questions over England facing these top sides and putting in a show, and the mental block that stands in their own way of success while other top nations continue to make it count when it matters most.

The game against Spain at Wembley largely shook off any of these concerns, as despite England losing the game, they put in a resilient performance, scored 2 against a side that rarely concede and if Kane had scored the penalty they probably could have won the clash. Despite having lapses of concentration and mistakes at points, England shook these off and put in a solid showing, and continued to grow in confidence throughout the break.

The most notable display as they hammered Croatia 7-0 on their own turf is a real standout moment of the break as England not only beat a top 15 ranked side but humiliated them. While England can occasionally turn on the style, the ruthlessness of this display will have had many other nations on watch as the Nations League offers a mini-blueprint for how the 2028 Euros could play out.

Overall, I’m coming away from this break with a change in belief, that initially thought Tuchel should step away and let England build for the next 4 years, to a genuine feeling that Tuchel can lead England to success in 2028, and possibly create a transition from there that another manager can take the reigns into the following World Cup. Whether this pans out is unknown, but after seeing England in these 4 games, I think the lessons have been learned from the World Cup exit and England can play with fearlessness on the biggest stages.

Kane Is Class

Harry Kane is arguably England’s greatest ever player. While some will argue against this due to personal preference, the numbers now prove this to be the case. In the final game of the break against Czechia, Kane made his record-equalling 125th England appearance, the joint record for the men’s senior side. With Kane arguably still in his peak at 33 years of age, being favourite for the Ballon d’Or and likely to be leading the way for England at least into Euro 2028, he will smash the appearance record as he did the scoring record, and will probably be well over 100 goals by the end of the current season. An incredible talent who perhaps was overlooked during his Tottenham years for lacking trophies, but he is without a doubt a world best talent who has a huge composure and leadership that makes his work almost seem routine.

Although we could continue to talk about Kane’s incredible efforts as he bagged 6 goals and 1 assist in his 4 appearances this break, we also need to discuss the back-up options for his role. While he will more than likely lead England into Euro 2028, the rotation is lacking in this role, with no obvious options to replace him and his goals. In several games, we saw Tuchel opt for either a Bellingham or Rogers false-9 role in Kane’s absence, but this has proven to lack the clinical edge needed at points, and while Calvert-Lewin had 15 cameo minutes he hasn’t scored for the country in 4 years. Perhaps as England develop to a life without Kane, there could be a replacement emerging or another option with several players able to adapt to this role, but it feels concerning that there’s no outright challenger to Kane’s incredible efforts.

England Have Options

Although just mentioning the lack of options for Kane’s replacement, the rest of the XI are looking stacked for options, with some incredible talents to select from as Tuchel continues to figure out the best approach for leading the team.

From back to front, we have a real contender with Jordan Pickford in goal, as we seem to be entering a transition with James Trafford likely to take the gloves long-term. In defence, there has been some injury issues at the summer tournament, but the re-inclusion of Lewis Hall and Trent Alexander-Arnold supplement the existing names, while Branthwaite, Chalobah, Rico Lewis and James Garner if required can all step up in the absence of Konsa, Stones, Spence, O’Reilly, James etc.

In midfield, Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo being unavailable was largely unfelt as Anderson becomes a secured spot in the side, being partnered by Lewis-Skelly, Alex Scott, Bellingham and Garner all as options which didn’t see a drop off in the control of most games. While England will largely remain with their pairing of Rice-Anderson-Bellingham, having alternates is a real positive again.

Finally, in the wide attacking roles, both Gordon and Saka seem to have cemented their standing as first choice options, however Rogers, Gibbs-White, Eze and Ngumoha all had decent moments this break, while the absences of Rashford, Palmer, Foden and possibly some others are supplementing this even further.

As things stand, England have a solid set of options across most roles in their squad, with at least one top level talent being supported by another standout option, an experienced head or young prospect eager to impress. Consequently, the selection issues will be more focussed on who misses out rather than who can be picked for England, demonstrating their immense levels of quality.