Best-laid plans often have to give way to next-best plans for head coaches in international football, and then there’s likely another hiccup or three to overcome after that.
Now in his third camp as England boss, Thomas Tuchel is already accepting of the fact that injuries are just one of a number of ways his plot to make them world champions next summer can suffer major obstacles and disruption at a moment’s notice.
England face Andorra on Saturday evening at Villa Park in a qualifier destined to follow an oh-so familiar pattern, the hosts challenged with unpacking a 5-4-1 system in a game that is simply a matter of how many goals they win by.
Then on Tuesday, an altogether different challenge. England meet Serbia in Belgrade for the first time and are expected to be met with a cauldron-like atmosphere ahead of facing their toughest test in Group K.
A match from which England will likely learn preciously little is followed by one that promises to teach Tuchel and his coaching staff a lot. Yet he cannot call on three of his most talented attackers; Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka are all out injured.
And since he named his squad, Adam Wharton and John Stones have both had to drop out. That deprives the England manager of a No6 for both matches. He has said he sees Wharton in that position and was planning to try Stones, who has played there for Manchester City, in the role against Serbia.
And so Tuchel and England must adapt, always in the knowledge that they have just three more international breaks between this one and the World Cup — a tournament for which Tuchel was hired with the express target of winning.
In an expanded 48-team World Cup, England could find themselves facing a fair number of defensively-minded sides next summer.
In that regard, the challenge of playing round and through Andorra’s blockaded defence may not be as useless a task as qualifying fixtures against Europe’s minnows so often have been in the past. England limped to a 1-0 win over them in June. They may not be able to learn much, but this could be a helpful exercise.
Tuchel is expected to give game time over the coming week to Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest’s gifted and physical No8. This week is his first time in the England squad, and the same is also true for Tottenham full-back Djed Spence, who it is understood would become the first Muslim player to play for England’s senior men’s team if he makes his debut on Saturday or Tuesday.
The England head coach said on Friday that he always saw his first two camps (in March and June) as opportunities to experiment with players available to him.
September, October and November were to be about honing the squad and getting closer to a consistent idea of what his team might look like next summer. That begins against Andorra.
