
THE appointment of Thomas Tuchel as manager of the England men’s team has caused a stir.
It has been criticised as an abandonment of English football identity. A betrayal of St George and the English DNA forged at his football Park in Staffordshire.
Such criticism forgets how football developed as a global game in the first place, and national team football has always been open to positive international influences and the sharing of ideas beyond borders.

The captain’s emotional performance in Argentina’s win over Venezuela had all the markings of a farewell. But if history is any guide, the legend may not be done just yet, writes JAMES NALTON

As football grapples with overloaded calendars and commercial pressure, the Mariners’ triumph reminds us why the game’s soul lives far from the spotlight, writes JAMES NALTON

JAMES NALTON takes a look at the German league’s move to grow its audience in Britain, and around the future of football on TV in general