After the World Cup, Thomas Tuchel was asked whether he had seen his version of England during the tournament – a question that drew a hesitant and unsure answer.

Over the summer, the Three Lions found ways to win but often leaned on scrappy moments of brilliance rather than methodical dominance.

Tuchel had in mind the type of team, the tactics and the patterns he wanted to see.

He and his assistant coach Anthony Barry have often spoken about borrowing ideas from the Premier League.

Building up short. Enticing pressure. Playing quickly across the middle of the pitch – whether through powerful carrying or long balls – to find runners in attack against fewer defenders.

These were all ideas England tried to execute, to varying levels of success, in the World Cup.

During the recent international break, many of the ideas we saw during the World Cup and prior have persisted.

There have, however, been deliberate changes in tactics and personnel, with the 53-year-old Tuchel looking to refine his blueprint rather than rewrite it from scratch.

England have continued to focus on first playing short from the back, intent on drawing opponents towards them before speeding up play to find their attackers in space.

Rather than giving the build-up responsibilities to two central defenders and a holding midfielder as they did during the World Cup, England have committed an extra player to this central build-up unit.

Two central midfielders and two central defenders look to solve problems against pressing attackers with a shape that fluctuates between a 2-2 or a 3-1.

Tuchel has praised Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, who took turns with Myles Lewis-Skelly to pair with Elliot Anderson in the heart of midfield in Declan Rice’s absence.

Either player taking the role of busy partner for Anderson – boasting technical quality and an ability to take turns playing as a lone holding midfielder – have proved successful for England.

Anderson, who sat at the base of midfield for much of the World Cup has, as a result, been deployed in a more varied role.

With Scott or Lewis-Skelly picking up the ball from the centre-backs, Anderson has dropped to form part of the back three alongside Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa.

This has given him time and space on the ball, facing forward, allowing him to use his forward passing to find attackers quickly.

Anderson has also found himself higher up the pitch on occasion, with the protection of his midfield partner behind him, allowing him to showcase his attacking quality.

An interesting knock-on effect of this, and a nod to England’s overarching evolution, has been the intensity England have shown as they have attacked.

“We’ve always played with high energy and a very aggressive style off the ball, to press high,” Tuchel explained. “Now we have added another layer.

“[Now, our] intensity was very high on the ball. We did a lot of high intensity runs, a lot of counter movements, and invested a lot in counter pressing.

“It’s the next step.”

Anderson’s ability to counter-press is an individual example of this improvement but more collective changes have contributed to England’s increased intensity in possession.

In the World Cup, the system looked like a 4-3-3 on paper.

The two centre-backs and holding midfielder formed a triangle. On both flanks, a central midfielder, full-back and winger formed a triangle. Harry Kane took a roaming role.

These wide triangles were the main method of chance creation. Key to this was constant movement as England looked to make it hard for opponents to track them.

Although this often got England’s winger one-against-one, teams could match England man for man in the wide areas, especially as they fatigued and off-ball runs that rid them of their markers became less common.

England’s recent 3-1-3-3 shape in possession has given them an extra player at the back but appears to have also provided better attacking dynamics.

The wide centre-back has contributed to attacking play out wide. England’s full-back, winger and number ten work together and are often also joined by one of the strikers or holding midfielders.

These five players have given England a numerical advantage on the flank. This has mainly been seen down England’s left.

Defensively, this provides them extra players around the ball, capable of counter-pressing with more intensity to win the ball back quickly.

Offensively, this has given them an unmarked player or two that they have often found well. By overloading the left flank, England pull opponents towards one side which has also enabled them to switch it to the opposite side for team-mates in space – often two against two.

Lewis Hall has stood out in this system, displaying a great chemistry with former club team-mate Anthony Gordon. Hall has taken a wide position frequently, allowing his winger to move in-field playing closer to the striker.

This winger is often the free man.

Tuchel highlighted England’s ‘counter-movements’ as part of their improvement and the swapping and replacing of zones between Hall and Anthony Gordon have been a good example of this.

The best example, however, has probably been in the form of Kane and Gordon.

The Barcelona winger hugged the touchline for much of the World Cup, being released in behind before crossing it, rather than finding space in the box.

England’s wide overloads and Hall’s role have resulted in Gordon playing more central for longer parts of the game, allowing him to work more closely with Kane.

With Kane dropping deep, defenders are pulled out of position, a trigger which Gordon has used brilliantly to make runs the opposite way.

The use of runners attacking space Kane creates is not new – Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers have previously found joy exploiting it, but Gordon has been the latest beneficiary, while starting out wide.

Gordon’s narrow runs from a wider starting position have been mirrored by Saka and Rogers on the other side too – a new string to England’s attacking bow.

Trent Alexander-Arnold started against the Czech Republic, and took a wider position for large parts of the game that moved Saka almost permanently into a inside-right position.

From here, he appeared dangerous and provided goal threat while Alexander-Arnold assisted Gordon with a cross from out wide.

Despite this, the Real Madrid man was benched for Jarrell Quansah against Croatia with the pair starting together against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

If asked to summarise Tuchel’s England in one idea, runs off the ball would be a good answer. Perhaps this is why Trent Alexander-Arnold has found it difficult to find a place in Tuchel’s squad.

“Trent is a unique player,” Tuchel said. “He is not a runner.

“He is not someone who runs through the last line, who does overlaps [and] underlaps. [Saka and Trent] need to find a way to not be too static. On the right side, [we need] movement through the last line – to play with dynamic movement.”

Against Croatia, Saka similarly found himself in central areas when Quansah held the width but played as a winger when Quansah moved centrally.

In both cases, Quansah was sure to make repeated runs beyond his winger.

Irrespective of his running, Alexander-Arnold’s display on the ball across both games caught the eye. And when it comes to off-ball movement, he has shown promising signs.

For other coaches, that alone may have guaranteed him a starting spot in future but what is evident is that for Tuchel, there are underlying principles that take precedence – ideas we have seen him look to implement since his appointment.

In the past, England were accused of being a team of world-class individuals without a system.

Tuchel, more than ever, is looking to land on a world-class system.

It is up to the players to convince him of their role in it, even as it evolves.