Thomas Tuchel believes England have unlocked a new level after moving forward with his tactical tweaks in the opening Nations League fixtures. The head coach wanted the players to retain their aggression, especially in the high press, to step on to the front foot and to harness the chaos often seen in the Premier League. But he has also tried to get them to play with greater freedom, to trust and follow their instincts more – while being alive to the need to cover for their teammates.

The results have been positive. After losing to Spain at Wembley, England recorded three wins: two against Czechia either side of the 7-0 victory against Croatia in Rijeka. They have in essence guaranteed their progress into the quarter-finals of a competition regarded as a tune-up for Euro 2028, while putting a bit of distance between themselves and the heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina in July.

“I have never done a big tournament or a big camp after a tournament,” Tuchel said. “It was new for me and brilliant to see how everyone bought in to the idea of the next steps and the details needed to adjust to maybe unlock the next level.

“It was football on a very high level, football that suits us, attacking football. It was a lot of high-ball wins and we took some calculated risks in the ‘man-man’ approach in the opponents’ half. We did it in all four games and we had four good performances if unfortunately not four wins. We didn’t beat Spain but it was always about the reaction and that was on a high level.”

Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, talked on Monday about adding more flexibility and fluidity to the game model. Tuchel was asked to elaborate. “We had the feeling that it was the next step because we saw them in training and we said sometimes we were missing the transfer [from the training pitch] into the game,” he said.

“So we made some slight adjustments to how we trained – not big ones because we always believed we had something to build on – but slight adjustments in the structure of how we build up and also how we defend. I am happy that what we did worked. We finally had two weeks with the team which helped a lot because we can do reviews of matches and training and we have a chance for a common language to sink in, for the patterns to sink in.”

The defender Jarell Quansah said the style had evolved since the World Cup and felt more aggressive and front-footed. “It’s exactly that,” he said. “I think it’s going all out. We can really dominate teams with the lads playing in the Premier League at such a high level and high intensity.

“It’s being relentless and ruthless. As soon as we score a goal, it’s not easing off, it’s going again, going again, trying to get the next goal, trying to put the next player under pressure. Everyone’s working for each other. If someone gets outplayed, the next person is into a tackle.

“We’ve put together a few performances now where we’ve fully gone for games and not tried to sit back. That’s what we wanted to do in this camp. We’ve shown how aggressive and dominant we can be against top nations in a tough group. There’s a lot more to come.”

Quansah also opened up on the pain of his World Cup red card. He was sent off in the last 16 against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca for catching Jesús Gallardo with a high and late tackle. It was the 54th minute and England led 2-1. They went further in front before being pegged back to 3-2 and digging in for a famous victory. Quansah was suspended for the quarter-final and semi-final.

“It was horrible,” he said. “I went into the tackle quite fast so it was a bit unlucky to end up the way it did. Being inside [the dressing room] and watching the team pull through was gut-wrenching but an unbelievable moment as well.

“It was tough. And obviously the two-game ban wasn’t ideal. You’re not just going to move on and forget about stuff. Obviously, it hurts so much. It’s not easy to get over something like that and it’s not been too long after.”