England's solid start under Southgate, sorry Tuchel, as familiar Three Lions limitations return

Things are going to be different under Thomas Tuchel but there were very few early indications it will be where fans want it to be.

If you missed England's 2-0 win over Albania, do not worry – you probably have seen it in many qualifying games of the last six years.

Unambitious second- or third-rate team comes to Wembley and parks the bus. The patient Three Lions enjoy oodles of possession, but do not make enough of it. England win, Harry Kane scores but there is little to write home about.

Tuchel set his team out in the 4-2-3-1 that became England's default shape once Southgate decisively moved on from three at the back, although he changed to 4-1-4-1 rather than waste an extra anchorman.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold injured Sheffield-born Kyle Walker was at right-back, Marcus Rashford winning his first cap for 363 days. Jordan Henderson came off the bench for old times' sakes.

Only injury to John Stones and the surprise exclusion of Marc Guehi fractured the regular spine of Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice and Kane.

England's first game under German management and a debut goal for Miles Lewis-Skelly – the youngest man to do that – were "I was there" moments. "I wish I was there" moments were thin on the ground.

Paper aeroplanes are a fair gauge of how disengaged an England crowd is. They were out in force.

Quick to criticise England's tepid summer, maybe Tuchel now has a better appreciation of a talented squad able to get so far in major tournaments, but only so far.

There is perhaps an element of "be careful what you wish for".

Reaching major tournaments may have been boringly routine under Gareth Southgate, but Lee Carsley's kamikaze defeat at home to Greece was a reminder it is harder than it looks.

If the football was same old, same old, the coach was punchier, spikier. When even Roy Keane thinks your pre-match comments are "harsh", you are clearly not one for soft soap.

His post-match comments were critical too – no hiding behind the scoreline. At one point he verged on complaining that England not giving the ball away meant no opportunities to "counter-press" it back.

It was, though, tempered with understanding.

"We will get better, we will get more rhythm," said a man taking his first step into international football as a player or coach. "I will understand the players better, so where do they feel confident? Where do we struggle? Why is it for us hard to find more runs and to find more aggressive movements into the last third?

"I re-watched the first goal, and I think Jude (Bellingham) played a played a ball against 10 defenders in a depth of eight meters.

"We struggled to find chipped balls and to understand the timing of the runs, but we will get better.

"We will have video sessions, and make sure we find solutions for it for Monday (when they host Latvia)."

Tuchel does not have much time to find answers, having set himself a ticking time-bomb of a contract – win next year's World Cup or bust.

His exasperation with two of England's great frustrations bubbled up.

Phil Foden, his song belted out by a crowd willing him to do well, came and went through another international without making his mark.

When asked about him, Tuchel crowbarred Rashford – busier, but still ineffective on the opposite, left, wing – into his criticism.

"Both of our wingers who started were not as impactful as they normally can be," he said.

"At the moment, I’m not sure why we struggled to bring the ball quicker to them, to bring the ball in a more open position to them.

"They trained very well, they were decisive in training, they were very good in the last weeks with their clubs."

The threat of bringing in Anthony Gordon has gone after a hip injury ruled him out of Monday’s game against Latvia.

But there were positives too.

Dan Burn's debut aged 32 did not start brilliantly – his first meaningful involvement looped a harmless cross onto his own bar. But he made up for it by thumping a header against Albania's late in the first half.

What little defending he had to do was robust.

Bellingham's pass to the other debutant in the XI was fantastic, the calmness with which Lewis-Skelly, 18 years and 176 days-old, slipped it between the keeper's legs, terrific.

"He was amazing in camp," said Tuchel. "He's full of confidence, very full of humour and such an open and mature character. He is full of courage, full of quality. Amazing."

With a coach who gives it straight, amazing really means amazing.