The Tuchel era is actually working

Stop me if you have heard this one before. A manager comes in, promises to fix England, and we spend eighteen months debating the same tired tropes. This time feels different because Thomas Tuchel is actually doing the one thing Southgate never could—he is treating Harry Kane like a football player instead of just a human target man.

You can see it in every tactical setup. Tuchel is leaning into Kane's playmaking skills, finally acknowledging that keeping your best passer glued to the penalty spot is a miserable waste of talent. It is about time the rest of the country caught up.

The post-match singalong

England fans spent years watching teams go through the motions. Winning a game against Croatia on Wednesday meant nothing if there wasn't a connection between the badge and the stands, right? Watching Kane lead a crowd in a rendition of Wonderwall felt genuine, even if it makes the traditionalists grumpy.

Kane called it one of his favourite ever moments in a Three Lions shirt. As reported by the BBC, there is clearly a vibe shift in the camp. When the captain is singing Oasis at the top of his lungs, the tension that usually strangles this team during major tournaments might actually be fading.

Tactical clarity is the real winner

Let's not get carried away with the karaoke, though. The real magic is internal. Tuchel has been talking about his immersion in English life, and it is showing in how the press is reacting to him. He isn't just treating this like a cushy holiday job.

He is leaning on Kane to drop deep, drag center-backs out of position, and fire diagonal balls to the wingers. It is a simple setup, but it takes actual guts to bench the 'poacher' instinct in favor of actual ball progression. If we get to the World Cup and England is still playing scared, the Tuchel experiment will be labeled a complete failure by Christmas.

For now, he has the locker room buy-in. When your star striker is happy and your manager is actually adjusting tactics based on reality rather than nostalgia, you have a fighting chance. It is a 1/1 shot at success, but for once, I don't feel like I'm watching a slow-motion car crash.

As Sky Sports notes, the momentum is real. Whether they can maintain this against elite defensive blocks remains the elephant in the room. Kane is the key, but even the best conductor can't fix a broken orchestra if the defense lapses in the 89th minute. Enjoy the Oasis singalongs while they last, people. We’ve been burned before.