He has mulled over the minutiae with Thomas Tuchel to such an extent he is allowed to make a joke at the boss’s expense. What is the missing piece of the puzzle? After all the emotion of England’s semi-final finish at the World Cup, how can they take the decisive step to glory?
It is early days in the Nations League campaign, which everybody at the Football Association wants to use as a slingshot into Euro 2028 when England will co-host, but Barry can see the genesis of an answer. It comes down to liberation, enabling England’s top players to fully express themselves, and there is a reason why he finds himself talking about Jude Bellingham. The Real Madrid player was sensational in Saturday’s 7-0 win over Croatia in Rijeka, just as he was in the 3-2 defeat against Spain at Wembley on the Saturday before that.
Playing in the No 10 role but with greater licence to drift, to overload on either side, there were times when Bellingham seemed to be playing with his own ball. The story about why he wore the No 22 shirt at his first club, Birmingham, is well told. Because he was a No 4, a No 8 and a No 10 rolled into one.
Tuchel appears to have reached a conclusion, the basis of which was formed at the World Cup when Bellingham excelled: when a talent like him can play in so many positions, perhaps it is better not to give him one at all. It allows him to roam and operate in spaces in which he thinks he can be dangerous and so far it’s brought out the best in him. So the challenge is to give him a space where he can do it all at once inside of one game.
Right now, in a short sample, it seems like we found a solution to unlock all of the potential that Jude has. But we have to continue.” The point is that it is not just about Bellingham, even if he has drawn the eye almost inexorably so far this season. The blueprint was there for all to see against Croatia and it is one in which plenty of players were encouraged to push into new zones away from those traditionally dictated by their positions.
Hence Tuchel had the full-backs extremely high, the wingers making zipping runs off the sides. It is about the combinations, the slicker the better, but also about players dropping into unusual areas to provide cover and using their footballing intelligence to ensure the overall structure retains its shape. Hence there was the sight of Harry Kane dropping into defensive spaces out of possession, the kind where most No 9s would never tread.
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