Football journalist and author Guillem Balagué looks ahead to England's World Cup Last 16 tie against Mexico.
England's World Cup meeting with Mexico may have arrived just a little too early for Thomas Tuchel.
Not because England lack talent or because the manager's ideas are flawed. Quite the opposite. The problem is that his team are in the process of being built.
You can already recognise the blueprint: Tuchel wants to replace reliance on individual brilliance with a collective machine, wants England to move together, press together, recover the ball quickly and dominate games through intelligent positioning, constant running and clever passing.
The objective is to create a side where the system elevates the individuals, rather than waiting for Harry Kane or Jude Bellingham to rescue the team.
That transformation, however, takes time.
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When you look around this World Cup, every successful side has a clearly recognisable identity. Some overwhelm opponents through possession, others through pressing (or both). Some are built around one extraordinary player, others trust their attacking quartet to solve every problem. Whether you like those approaches or not, they are established. England is still under construction.
That does not mean they have been poor. In the context of tournament football, England have remained competitive and have shown enough resilience to suggest they can go far. But there is still a gap between understanding Tuchel's ideas and executing them automatically under pressure. Which is why Mexico represents such an intriguing test. And it could be a turning point.
Playing in front of passionate home support, Mexico will treat this like a final. Their intensity, emotion, their willingness to fight for every ball will make life uncomfortable. England will have to cope with technical quality but also with the altitude and a team that will offer the ball to England, see what you can do.
History tells us these awkward matches often become defining moments. Spain needed to overcome Paraguay in 2010. France needed to beat Paraguay in 1998. The eventual champions were forced to suffer against a team (like France again yesterday) that is not looking for your ethical judgement on their style but the most likely way to get a good outcome despite being inferior.
Mexico could play a similar role for England.
If Tuchel's team comes through this challenge, they will gain far more than three points. They will gain confidence in an idea that is not yet fully embedded. Sometimes belief arrives before perfection, and success gives players the conviction to keep following a demanding process.
It would be ironic if England's biggest victory so far of the new regime came before Tuchel's football had completely taken shape. But tournaments often work that way. Winning can accelerate development, even when the performance is still imperfect.
Today a win could be remembered as the night everyone truly started believing in where this team is heading.
