One of Southgate’s other great qualities was his ability to foster a strong sense of unity in the England team, something that will not be helped by the captain’s suggestions that some might be more interested in the club than the country.
A subplot is also clear. Would some of those players not here in Athens have been more willing to report if this had been Tuchel’s first game in charge rather than the dying embers of Carsley’s interim regime?
There is also a growing sense that the matches in Greece on Thursday and against the Republic of Ireland on Sunday are meaningless. Tuchel’s willingness to simply receive observation instructions from elsewhere only adds fuel to that fire.
However, the results have some importance.
If England beat Greece and then finish first in their Uefa Nations League group, Tuchel’s first matches in March will either be World Cup qualifiers or friendlies, depending on the size of their qualifying group. If they finish second, England will face a two-leg playoff and a possible return to the top flight of the UEFA Nations League.
When Tuchel takes over, it will have been three months since he signed his contract with the FA. No concrete reason has been offered as to why it will start on January 1. It’s a good date to start, but it seems like wasted time.
Is this a sentiment also shared by some English players? Kane’s interview will do nothing to make that suspicion go away.
The atmosphere around England’s last camp – when they lost to Greece at Wembley before beating Finland in Helsinki – was chaotic and unsatisfactory, with mixed messages from Carsley as he appeared to question his own credentials for the job and then insisted he not be discarded of the race only for the FA to reveal at Tuchel’s presentation at Wembley that he had signed on the dotted line two days before the debacle against the team they will face in Athens on Wednesday.
The FA and Tuchel may simply believe that a start on January 1, the first day of 2025, represents the new era, a new beginning.
Kane’s biting words and the recent camps in England increase the feeling that one is very necessary.
