Tactical analysis: England look exciting but how can they tighten up?

Tactical analysis: England look exciting but how can they tighten up?To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Highlights: A six-goal thriller ends England 4-2 CroatiaByUmir IrfanFootball tactics correspondentPublished1 minute agoCommentsEngland's 4-2 win against Croatia was full of exciting attacking football but the defensive part of the game raised some eyebrows with them looking open on a number of occasions. In football, what a team does in attack impacts how they defend and vice versa so it is important to assess both the on-the-ball and off-the-ball tactics together.In this piece, we analyse the reasons why England looked less defensively secure in their World Cup opener compared with previous games under Thomas Tuchel.This was an England we haven't seen for years - and it was funPublished9 hours agoFrom one to 48 - every World Cup team ranked after first gamePublished5 hours agoKane stuck in midfield when England lost the ballIn the first half, England launched numerous dangerous direct attacks.They did this by first looking to pass the ball back hoping to entice the opposition to press high. Declan Rice pulled into a wide position, vacating his central midfield position, leaving space into which Harry Kane would drop deep.With Croatia pressing high in numbers, Kane then looked to launch long passes into England's runners – Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Noni Madueke - who found themselves three against three at times.This resulted in England creating big chances but it also meant that if they were to lose the ball in earlier parts of their build-up play, Kane rather than Rice would be in central defensive areas. This partly explains some of their defensive instability and can be seen in the example below.Image caption, Nico O'Reilly misplaces a pass in-field for Harry Kane (yellow) and England lose the ball. Kane's position here makes him a weakness defensively....