England and Tuchel prepare to go deep but know ignominy may lie in wait if they fail | Jacob Steinberg

I t was the 10th anniversary last Saturday of the Iceland debacle . Kolbeinn Sigthórsson’s winner sliding underneath Joe Hart’s dive, Wayne Rooney chugging away in midfield, Harry Kane taking corners, and Roy Hodgson being forced to conduct a sullen farewell press conference. It all feels like something from a fever dream but no, it did happen and that really was the state England were in when their Euro 2016 campaign came to an end. Expectations could not have been lower before Gareth Southgate banished the fear. England had to take small steps before becoming contenders again, to the extent that beating Colombia on penalties in the last 16 of the 2018 World Cup and winning a knockout tie for the first time in 12 years was an achievement. The challenge is different for Thomas Tuchel . When Southgate stepped down after losing the Euro 2024 final and the Football Association considered its next move the target was to bring in an elite coach. Two external data companies aided the search and one of the factors that led to Tuchel being given the job was the statistical evidence that he will give England an edge in knockout football. The part where Tuchel earns his corn starts now. England’s target at the World Cup is to put a second star on the shirt but it would be pushing it to say they sailed through the group stage. The surge against Croatia in Dallas is yet to be repeated. …