England warned they are not ‘at the same level’ as four teams ahead of World Cup | Football

Thomas Tuchel’s England side have been warned that they are still not ‘on the same level’ as four other sides heading into next summer’s World Cup.

The Three Lions ensured they ended their qualifying campaign with a perfect record as they defeated Albania 2-0 in Tirana on Sunday evening.

It was hardly a vintage display from England on the night, but the visitors were able to eke out a hard-fought win courtesy of a second-half brace from captain Harry Kane.

What’s more, an eighth straight clean sheet saw Tuchel’s men become the first European nation to ever go an entire World Cup qualifying campaign of over six matches without conceding.

Despite only arriving in the post at the start of the year, Tuchel has quickly got to grips with this England side, with impressive victories away at Serbia and at home to Wales showcasing their potential under the German.

England are now not back in action until March next year, when preparations for the World Cup in north America will start to come to the boil.

And the Three Lions will rightly be considered amongst the favourites for the tournament, given their impressive form and recent record in men’s major tournaments.

However, former Chelsea defender and France international Frank Leboeuf is yet to be convinced by this current England side and, in particular, their decision to hire Tuchel as Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.

‘I’m really fond of Thomas Tuchel,’ Leboeuf told OLBG. ‘However, I believe a big footballing country like England doesn’t need a German coach to win the World Cup.

‘It would have been difficult for me to accept, purely from a cultural perspective.

‘Similarly, I wouldn’t be happy to see an English coach for the French national team. We had one once, or maybe a Romanian coach, in the ’60s. I think big football nations should have a coach from their own country.

‘When Thomas Tuchel was nominated, I said I wasn’t happy with it. With all due respect to Thomas Tuchel and the English Federation, if he can win the World Cup, good for them.

‘But for me, there’s always something going wrong with the English national team at a certain time.’

And those issues are why Leboeuf suggests that four other teams were performing at a higher level and should be considered favourites over England.

‘That’s why I’d say, ‘wait and see.’ It’s why I rank Portugal, Spain, Argentina, and France ahead of England,’ he added when asked to assess England’s chances next summer.

‘You can’t deny the talent is there, and if they can find the chemistry, it’s going to work. The biggest issue any national team coach of England faces is that in the past, especially in my playing days, clubs were more important than the national team.

‘It was hard to find chemistry because players hated each other week in, week out. Now, it’s getting a little better; it seems they appreciate each other and are ready to work together.

‘So, it’s possible. But I don’t see England at the same level as the others right now.’

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