The uncomfortable truth behind England’s World Cup failure nobody is talking about

The second half against Croatia felt like a new dawn. England’s superstars were the new entertainers on the block after years of tactical frustration. And if their grit could be questioned, thriving before surviving at the Azteca proved that the old English DNA could combine with the supposed new.

Then that ‘good old grit’ seemed to linger. Norway very nearly rowed to shore, only for England’s own Real Madrid superstar to have his say. Oasis echoed once more and as Argentina awaited, there was no question of quality.

But for a 39-year-old Lionel Messi, this was not an England side believing for the sake of believing.

This was an England side with Jude Bellingham – a successful Galactico. A side with freshly-crowned Premier League winners, with two of the most expensive players of all time in Morgan Rogers and Elliot Anderson. If that wasn’t enough, a Barcelona winger and a Bayern Munich striker featured in the frontline.

Thomas Tuchel told the country that he wouldn’t fall back on survival instincts, but even he couldn’t resist holding what he had when a country awaiting history found themselves on the verge of their first final in 60 years. On came Dan Burn, back dropped the Three Lions and onwards went Argentina to face Spain in New Jersey.

The boos rang out for Tuchel as England secured a bronze medal against France. However, those are the same boos that Sven-Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Gareth Southgate heard. At some point, the problem doesn’t start in the technical area – it starts far deeper.

The ‘good old English DNA’ hasn’t even produced its own Premier League winning manager. The truth is, it simply does not produce enough elite coaches to get close.

FA offers just 90 A-license places to 800 applicants

It is estimated that just 90 coaches per year are accepted onto the FA’s UEFA A course – the qualification needed to coach in the Premier League and gain the UEFA Pro license to then lead in the technical area.

That number may sound healthy, but the true context can be exposed by the estimate that there are around 800 applicants to the course per year. It is damning for the FA, who are forced to reject an incredible number of coaches due to such limited spaces.

A coach who was rejected for the UEFA A course in England before being accepted in Spain told Football FanCast: “Demand is there. And when the demand completely exceeds the number of places obviously then it’s very difficult to try and do the courses, to improve. So that was the challenge I faced to get on just because there weren’t enough courses and too many people kind of a little bit bottlenecked in terms of going from one course to another.

“The A license in England is only done at St George’s Park whereas the A license in Spain is done in counties if you like. There are obviously many more courses, it’s much more accessible.

“The cost is less and more people then can access the courses because there are more courses, they’re regional. That’s basically it, so I found myself a few times unable to be one of those selected people in England.”

The cost of England’s coaching badges has been at the centre of criticism for some time – an English manager is still yet to win the Premier League.

The closest that its own system has come in the last 20 years is producing respectable coaches like Eddie Howe and Graham Potter. Both have managed Champions League football and deserve a lot of credit. Yet neither can say they are England’s version of Pep Guardiola.

In the meantime, nine of the last 20 La Liga-winning managers have been Spanish. In a place where coaching is accessible, those numbers should come as no surprise. There is demand, there are places and there are, therefore, elite managers continuing to come through.

English coaching pathway costs far more than in Europe

Whilst clubs in the EFL and the Premier League are likely to fund the UEFA B and UEFA A badge if they feel coaches are well-placed to progress and have potential to play a part in the first-team, it comes at a far higher cost than in Spain.

The difference in money is £12,973. The difference on the pitch is two European Championships and two World Cups in the last 20 years.

It’s not just the accessibility and costs either. Once coaches win their fight to secure a limited UEFA A spot, the modules are failing to create truly generational managers. When looking back on English football, it’s hard to point towards its own Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola or Arrigo Sacchi.

There is a clear idea of what Spanish DNA means in football. There is a clear lineage to follow.

“There’s a massive emphasis on winning. Huge emphasis on winning, much more so than in England,” one coach who earned their A license in Spain told Football FanCast.

“In England, it’s definitely much more focused on the pathway, the progress for individual development plans and learning of the players, which is also very good. It’s a different way of doing it. But in Spain, it’s very competitive. All of the sessions are very analytical. They’re very focused around the tactical side of the game.

“When you have a whole country that is all in that way of working, especially as a team and as a group, there’s a real clear understanding of what people need to do, their roles and responsibilities in different areas of the pitch.

When simplified, Spain focuses on tactical instruction and team identity, while England’s course teaches individual development alongside player-centred learning. And that was on show for all to see at the World Cup.

As Bellingham and Harry Kane dragged the Three Lions to the final four with excellent, unforgettable but individual moments, Spain conceded just one goal, turned to Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal to lead their line and enjoyed seven different goalscorers in eight games.

No matter the player, the role and system remained the same – a system with the same core principles that every Spanish player has learned from youth level up until tournament victories at senior level.

It’s easy to blame Tuchel for retreating like so many England managers have done in the past. But the truth is that the reason why football is taking such a disastrous journey home is not because of a slow driver, it’s thanks to a car which has failed countless MOTs.

Until the FA discovers what “England’s football DNA” means and opens the door of innovation that cheaper prices and more places for elite coaches will provide, the Three Lions will remain a team of moments rather than long-awaited history.