Ba don tafiyar da England ta matakan rukuni ba aka kawo Thomas Tuchel ba. Magabacin sa Gareth Southgate ya yi haka kusan cikin kamala — manyan gasar guda hudu, kuma ya samu wucewa zuwa matakin kashi-da-zuwa duka hudu. Aikin da aka ɗauki Tuchel don shi ne wanda Southgate ya kasa a kai a kai: cin nasara a lokacin da mafi muhimmancin abu.

Tuchel ya bayyana wannan tsammani tun farko. A taron manema labarai na farko ya ce: "Muna da ƙwaƙƙwaran tarihi a gasar kuma yanzu muna nufin ƙetare layi da sanya tauraro na biyu a katifarmu. Akwai kofuna da suka ɓace kuma ina so in taimaka wajen samunsu." Koyaushe ya san cewa wa'adinsa zai gwama ba a kan al'ada ko cigaba ba — ya yabi Southgate kan duka biyun — sai dai a kan shawarwari da ake yanke a lokuta mafi muhimmanci na ƙwallon ƙafa na kashi-da-zuwa.

Alamun ƙarfafawa daga hutuwar sha ruwa

Wasan England da DR Congo a zagaye na 16 ya bar masu goyon baya cikin damuwa, amma wata alheri ɗaya ta bayyana fili: tasirin hutuwar sha ruwa. Duk sararrakin takwas da England ta yi a rabin farko sun zo bayan waɗannan hutuwowi waɗanda suka ba Tuchel damar sake tsara ƙungiyarsa. Daidaituwar ta zo jim kaɗan bayan hutuwar rabin na biyu, tare da Declan Rice — wanda aka mai da shi baya mai dama — a matsayin maɗaukaki. Tuchel ya ɗauki wannan canjin a matsayin nasara ta mataimakinsa Anthony Barry, amma sakamako ya nuna daidai irin sa hannun da ke tsakiyar wasan wanda dukan mulkinsa ya dogara akansa.

Inda Southgate ya yi rashi

Gudanar da wasa ya zama babbar lahani ta Southgate. A wasan kusa da na karshe na Kofin Duniya FIFA 2018, karfin England ya ɓarke tuntuni kafin Croatia ta yi daidai — duk da haka, sauya dan wasa na farko bai zo sai bayan wannan karon ba. Wannan rashin aiki ɗaya ya sake bayyana a wasan karshe na UEFA Euro 2020 da Italiya: karo da wuri, ja da baya a hankali, sai an ci kwal din daidaituwa kafin Southgate ya aika. A wasan kusa da na karshe na Kofin Duniya FIFA 2022 da Faransa, ba a yi canjin dan wasa har Olivier Giroud ya aza Faransa gaba a minti na 78 ba. Cole Palmer ya yi tasiri na wucin gadi yana cin kwal din daidaituwa daga benci a wasan karshe na UEFA Euro 2024, amma wani ɗan wasa na Spain ne ya rubuta babban karo na ƙarshe.

Abin da tsohon mai binciken Tuchel ya ce

Benjamin Weber ya yi aiki tare da Tuchel a Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, da Chelsea — inda suka ɗauki UEFA Champions League tare — kafin ya bi hanyarsa ta sana'a. Ya zabi ikon Tuchel na tsara wasannin da ke da ɗaya-da-ɗaya a matsayin babbar ƙwarewarsa ta musamman.

"A gasar, shi ɗaya ne daga cikin mafi kyau," Weber ya shaida wa Sky Sports. "Bai shafi wace gasar ba, kullum muna cikin wasan karshe. Da Dortmund, da Paris, da Chelsea, kullum wasannin karshe ne. Bazan samu yawan kocina da ke yin hakan kowane lokaci ba."

Weber ya nuna "tunanin nasara" na Tuchel da ikon sa na halitta — ba kawai tsawinsa na jiki ba, sai dai jagoranci na gaskiya. Sama da komai, ya jaddada ikonsa na daidaitawa. "Yana da kyau sosai a cikin wasa. Kullum yana koyarwa yayin wasa don yin daidaicewa da fitar da mafi kyau daga 'yan wasan ta fuskar dabarun. Na yi mamaki da jawabinsa na lokacin kashi. Yana iya ƙarfafa 'yan wasa da kalmominsa. Kana son ka bi shi."

Tuchel da kansa ya bayyana hanyarsa a matsayin wacce aka gina bisa nutsuwa da bayyanawa — tunatar da 'yan wasa inda fanko yake, isar da saƙon dabara ɗaya ko biyu cikin ƙarfi, sa'an nan yanke shawara kan sauye-sauye cikin imani maimakon jinkiri.

Ancelotti yana saita ma'auni

Sauran kocin da ya daya ya lashe UEFA Champions League a wannan Kofin Duniya FIFA 2026 shi ne Carlo Ancelotti, kuma England na iya fuskantar ƙungiyarsa ta Brazil a kusa da na karshe. Tsohon ɗan Italiyanci ya riga ya nuna hankalinsa na karanta wasa: ya shigar da Gabriel Martinelli a madadin Matheus Cunha a rabin na biyu da Japan, yana sanya dan wasan Arsenal a cikin hagu na ciki maimakon gefen. Martinelli ya ci kwal a cikin ƙarin lokaci ya aika Brazil gaba. Casemiro ya yi daidaituwa mintoci kaɗan kafin haka duk da kiran cewa a cire shi — Ancelotti ya amince da hankalinsa, kuma sun ci nasara.

Iyakoki a wannan Kofin Duniya FIFA 2026 sun kasance masu tsanani. An yanke wasannin kashi-da-zuwa na farko biyu a cikin ƙarin lokaci; na gaba biyu ta hanyar bugun fanariti. England ta Southgate ta kan ga kanta a gefen mara dace na waɗannan iyakokin sau da yawa. Tambayar da nadin Tuchel aka ɗauke shi domin amsa ita ce: shin zai iya juya ma'auni a lokaci mafi mahimmanci?