Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira knows what it takes to win a World Cup.
The Frenchman won it with Les Bleus in 1998, and he saw his home country do it again in Russia in the summer of 2018.
England are aiming to do just that in North America this summer, and they have won one and drawn one of their first two group stage fixtures.
In the latest of those games, Vieira wasn’t too happy with how Thomas Tuchel used Eberechi Eze.
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Patrick Vieira pinpoints Thomas Tuchel’s Eberechi Eze mistake
Eze is one of the best players in the Premier League.
The Arsenal number 10 had his struggles in his debut season, but he also scored a few magical goals and produced some excellent moments.
That is Eze in a nutshell. He is a player who can create something out of absolutely nothing, and that is what makes him a match-winner.
Yet, Tuchel kept him on the bench in England’s opener against Croatia and just 14 minutes in the second game against Ghana.
Patrick Vieira felt that was too little time on the pitch for the Arsenal man.
He said on The Rest is Football podcast: “You have Eze, who came on. I think he was of a different quality. I just believe that when you play with a deep block like that, you may not need three midfielders in this kind of same profile.
“You may have one a little bit more creative, one who maybe has more last passes, more creativity in the last 30 yards, because I think there was a lack of decision-making, quality decision-making in the last 30 yards.
“I think he was too slow to make it (the substitution).”
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Thomas Tuchel needs to be braver with his midfield selection
On paper, a midfield of Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham is spectacular.
The three players are solid, extremely hard-working and are capable of producing the good with the ball at their feet.
However, when England are playing low blocks, players like Eze or Arsenal target Morgan Rogers are far better at unlocking the defence.
In such games, Tuchel will be better off starting one of those two players instead of leaving it until the final 20 minutes to bring them on.
England play Panama next in a game where they will dominate possession. That gives Tuchel the perfect opportunity to name a more attacking midfield.
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