2026 World Cup: How Thomas Tuchel's England are shaping up after perfect qualification campaign

Perfection is a status that many strive for, but very few achieve in football, but the statistics say that England's World Cup 2026 Qualifying campaign was the dictionary definition of flawless.

Thomas Tuchel arrived with big boots to fill following the departure of Euro 2020 and 2024 finalist Gareth Southgate, but the German soon found himself on the right side of history with the Three Lions, who won all eight of their games in Group K en route to North America.

England had punched their ticket to the global finals with two games to spare - becoming the first UEFA nation to do so - but they did not rest on their laurels when November rolled around and were comfortable 2-0 victors over both Serbia and Albania.

The latter result marked a historic 11th straight win for England, who had never enjoyed a longer triumphant streak in non-friendly matches before, and also made them just the second team to win all of their World Cup Qualifying matches without conceding after Yugoslavia ahead of the 1954 tournament.

With all eyes on England's transatlantic crossing next year, Sports Mole takes a closer look at how the 1966 winners are shaping up before the 2026 World Cup.

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On the back of two torturous near misses at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, with a mediocre quarter-final exit at the 2022 World Cup sandwiched in between, England turned to a serial silverware specialist to finally get them over the line in North America.

Sir Southgate ostensibly took his country as far as he could, vacating the hotseat for 2020-21 Champions League winner Tuchel, but the ex-Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss soon found himself on the wrong side of history.

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As will always be the case with any non-English manager to take the reins, Tuchel's appointment was met with scepticism and criticism in some corners, but his tremendous trophy record seemingly spoke for itself.

Penning an 18-month contract with the FA, Tuchel was evidently sworn in for one reason and one reason alone, to end 60 years of World Cup hurt and allow England's next 'golden generation' to fulfil their full potential.

When he first faced the media as England manager, Tuchel vowed to conduct his work with "passions and emotions", while also admitting that he felt like a teenager as the job brought the 51-year-old's "young me" alive again.

However, from a young Tuchel to an old flame, the German's first squad announcement quickly raised eyebrows owing to the inclusion of an ageing Jordan Henderson, who is now back in the Premier League with Brentford following a short-lived Ajax stint.

The former Liverpool's captain's inclusion harked back to the more forgettable aspects of the Southgate reign, though; many a time the latter was lambasted for siding with familiarity over form, staying loyal to his 'favourites' while other talented prospects were restricted to the periphery.

Thankfully for Tuchel - who labelled Henderson the "glue that makes everything special" when defending the midfielder's selection - he was blessed with two straightforward showdowns for his managerial debut in March, when the Three Lions strode past Albania and Latvia by an aggregate score of 5-0.

In addition to Harry Kane customarily netting in both fixtures, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Eberechi Eze's strikes offered genuine hope that the new crop of Lions could gel well with the experienced members of the pride.

However, some glass-half-empty supporters believed that England should have blown away their opponents by a bigger scoreline, and those who made the sojourn to Barcelona in the summer echoed such sentiments at a much greater volume.

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Minnows Andorra setting up in a defence-heavy structure was to be expected, but even an experimental England side would have ordinarily been backed to breach their opponents' backline a few times en route to a routine qualifying victory.

Alas, Kane was forced to bail his nation out of trouble yet again, and with the scoreline reading 1-0 heading into the last knockings, a plucky Andorra remarkably did not give up hope of salvaging the unlikeliest of points in Catalonia.

As uninspiring as that victory was, it kept England top of World Cup Qualifying Group K with a 100% record, although the defeat that had seemingly been brewing was soon upon Tuchel.

The German largely went back to tried-and-tested against Senegal, but after Kane delivered for his under-fire coach yet again, the Euro 2024 runners-up were slain by a Lions of Teranga unit who simply wanted it more at the City Ground.

If offering Henderson a place in his squad was not already cause for criticism, starting a declining Kyle Walker - who was at fault for Senegal's equaliser - was, and Tuchel also delivered a slightly spiky response when asked why he only threw Ivan Toney on in the 88th minute.

England's men's team had never been beaten by an African nation before Senegal stunned Nottinghamshire, and neither Tuchel nor his players were under any illusions that that result was unacceptable, plain and simple.

The Three Lions did little to silence the critics in another uninspiring 2-0 success over Andorra at Villa Park in September, but when facing ostensibly the toughest test Group K could throw at them, England finally found their golden touch under Tuchel.

The 5-0 destruction of Serbia saw the nation register their biggest-ever away win against a top-50 country since the FIFA Rankings were established in 1992, and one that surely offered renewed optimism of a genuine challenge for glory in 2026.

Just one month down the line, England pummelled Latvia by the same scoreline to officially confirm their place at next year's World Cup, where they will be considered true contenders for the crown if their attack continues to click and their defence continues to deny.

Tuchel's new-look side did not exactly gel against Albania in November 2025, but thanks to an unbreakable defence, a relentless midfield and the irrepressible Kane - who has now scored more senior international goals than Pele himself - England are most certainly one of the teams to beat in North America.