Thomas Tuchel's Careful Management of Bukayo Saka

Thomas Tuchel is treating Bukayo Saka like fine glassware: precious, vital, and not to be rushed back onto the table before it’s ready.

The England forward is being carefully managed as he works his way back to full sharpness after an Achilles problem, and Tuchel made it clear he will not gamble on his fitness – even with pressure building around a misfiring attack.

“He seems to be more and more ready, and will hopefully push, and then we will see what is coming,” Tuchel said. “He’s getting there, and there’s more and more training sessions, so he needs to have more sessions now. Two sessions to be ready for Panama.”

This is a manager walking a tightrope: England need Saka’s spark, but they also need him in one piece. Tuchel welcomed the minutes the Arsenal winger picked up, yet refused to let the narrative turn into a one-man rescue mission.

“It’s not only about Bukayo, but it was good he got some minutes under his belt. Hopefully, there is no reaction and he is good to go.”

No saviours, no shortcuts

The questions after the laboured display against Ghana were inevitable. Four shots on target, little incision, and a frontline that never quite caught fire. Saka, so often England’s big-stage reference point, found himself at the centre of the debate: does he have the mentality to drag this attack up a level when it matters?

Tuchel batted that away.

“We need it from everyone. I’m not engaging in that,” he said, shutting down the idea that one player could, or should, carry the burden. “It’s not like Bukayo comes back and everything is solved, and I don’t want to put this on his back.

“He is a top player, that’s why he is with us. We need him desperately, like every other player, in top shape, and pushing. But everyone is doing their best, and it’s not the moment to shout for individual names to help us out. We’re in a good place, still.”

The message was pointed: no scapegoats, no superheroes. Just a squad expected to grow into the tournament.

Panama on the horizon, but no revolution

Next up is Panama, a name that still triggers memories of that 6-1 dismantling at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This version of Panama, though, has been stubborn if unspectacular, losing 1-0 twice at this tournament and refusing to be rolled over.

Tuchel, for his part, is not preparing a dramatic overhaul. He is not blind to the criticism after Ghana, but he is adamant that ripping up the structure would be reckless.

The one obvious tweak could come at left-back, where Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly is in contention to return in place of Djed Spence. Beyond that, Tuchel is leaning towards continuity.

“I am not shy to do some rotation now. Some players should be on the pitch but maybe it will be more moderate,” he explained. “It’s not always fair if you just rotate your players in and say: ‘OK, let’s perform.’”

He likes what he sees in key areas. The centre-backs, he said, have formed a partnership he trusts. Elliot Anderson, too, earned praise for stepping up.

“I like for example the centre-backs. They were good together. I like Elliot Anderson, he had a step forward and a good performance, maybe a bit better than against Croatia.”

England’s issues against Ghana were not a complete lack of threat, but a lack of ruthlessness. The deliveries came, the set plays mounted, the half-chances flickered. None of them changed the game.

“We created half-chances, we created deliveries and set plays but couldn’t score from it to change the characteristics of the game,” Tuchel said. “I know it’s not an easy watch. Maybe I watch it differently from the sideline as a coach. I know what we wanted and what we had to take care of.”

Grinding, not glittering

Tuchel’s view of tournament football is clear: this is not a talent show, it’s a long, hard climb.

“There is a long way to go and no one has won a World Cup with four goals per match and going for it,” he reminded. “We always want to go for it and our responsibility is to bring everything to the table. We tried and tried but it’s difficult sometimes and there is no need to feel negative.”

So England head towards Panama in a curious place: criticised yet calm, searching for fluency but clinging to structure, desperate for Saka’s brilliance but determined not to lean on him as a crutch.

Two more training sessions for their winger. Ninety more minutes to find out whether this is just a slow burn, or the first real test of Tuchel’s resolve.