"As they like to say in the US, dee-fense wins championships. The sentiment is not an exclusively American thing. Attack wins you games, defence win you titles, Sir Alex Ferguson once said. And he should know, having won quite a lot of them with Manchester United. As England look forward to next summer's World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, the idea has come to resonate, mainly because of how miserly they have been at the back under Thomas Tuchel."
"They will secure automatic qualification with two games to spare if they beat Latvia on Tuesday night. It ought not be beyond them given Latvia could only draw 2-2 here with the Group K whipping boys, Andorra, on Saturday. And given England have been virtually impregnable in the campaign under Tuchel. The table shows five wins out of five with five clean sheets, Jordan Pickford keeping them all."
"You have to go back a year to find the last England game when Pickford conceded; the 2-1 Nations League defeat against Greece at Wembley. Tuchel's England have been breached in one match the 3-1 friendly defeat against Senegal in June when Dean Henderson was in goal. That was no slight on Henderson, rather a reflection of Senegal's superior quality compared with everything else Tuchel has faced."
England's defence under Thomas Tuchel has been exceptionally effective, producing five wins and five clean sheets in World Cup qualification. Jordan Pickford has recorded eight consecutive clean sheets for England, including the 3-0 friendly win over Wales, and has conceded only infrequently since Tuchel's arrival. The only recent goals conceded came in a Nations League loss to Greece and a friendly defeat to Senegal when Dean Henderson started. Opponents' lower FIFA rankings and the collective defensive organisation of the starting XI underpin England's strong defensive record and likely automatic qualification.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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