Thomas Tuchel believes England were a danger to themselves on the ball during their 3-2 defeat to Spain.

The Three Lions made several crucial mistakes in their loss to the reigning world and European champions on Saturday and were made to pay with goals from Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal.

Having gone the whole of the World Cup qualifying campaign without conceding, Tuchel’s side have now let in nine from their last three internationals against Argentina, France and Spain.

Despite showing frailties against elite opposition, Tuchel does not think England’s issue lies with their defensive set-up and instead insists that their mistakes have come from causing their own issues in possession.

“It’s not a concern yet,” Tuchel said ahead of England’s second Nations League game against Czech Republic on Tuesday.

“I felt that in terms of organised defending, block defending and active defending, we were at a higher level than in many other matches.

“If you want to look at it in isolation on how we did within the structure and in the units of the sides, I was quite happy and I think it was a step ahead.

“We suffered clearly from individual mistakes when we had the ball, especially in the deep build-up, so that is of course something we cannot repeat. Not at this level.

“Strangely enough, when we had the ball, we were the biggest danger to ourselves around the box because we just had too many individual mistakes. Purely in defending, I have no concerns and I trust that we can do it.”

Tuchel’s comments come off the back of widespread criticism of his tactics during England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, where he opted to defend a one-goal lead rather than looking to extend their advantage.

The German responded by hitting out at the ‘DNA’ of English players. “I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in Spanish DNA or in Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball,” he said following their exit.

It raised scrutiny over England’s footballing identity, but Tuchel believed his players showcased exactly that in the defeat to Luis de la Fuente’s side at Wembley.

“I think there was a lot of discussion about this before [the Spain game],” Tuchel stated.

“I think we showed our style and we showed our courage. The players showed an identity and they showed it throughout the 90 minutes.

“We gave them a lot of problems. We caused ourselves some problems with individual mistakes. Mistakes can sometimes happen. They shouldn’t, but they did happen.

“We had the world and European champions on the edge of a defeat. In the decisive moments we played our best football. We kept attacking when we were a goal ahead. We were even more dominant and more of a threat.

“We were a little bit self-responsible for the break in momentum towards the end of the match. But overall we have a lot of positives to take away.”

England’s upcoming Nations League Group A3 fixtures

Tuesday September 29: Czech Republic (A), kick-off 7.45pm

Saturday October 3: Croatia (A), kick-off 5pm

Tuesday October 6: Czech Republic (H), kick-off 7.45pm

Former British No 1 Tim Henman has called for changes to the calendar saying the 12-day Masters 1000 is “too much” tennis.

World No 1 Jannik Sinner announced he will not be able to return from a knee injury as planned at the China Open next week, having not played since Wimbledon.

Carlos Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon with a wrist problem while Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper are among a number of other players who have been out for lengthy spells in 2026.

Eight of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments across the season are mandatory for most top players along with four ATP 500 events, and the growth of most Masters events to 12 days has been a bone of contention among players.

Former world No 4 Henman, who won the Masters 1000 title at the Paris Masters in 2003, would like to see changes.

“I think it’s been pretty well documented that the 12-day Masters 1000s is just too much tennis,” said Henman.

“That’s too much time on the road and unfortunately we’re seeing that with the number of players that are injured. I would definitely bring that to eight or nine days, which would free up the calendar.

“That’s sort of more of a product change. I think if I had to make a practical, rule chance, then I would just get rid of the let serve.

“Every other shot can hit the top of the net, go over and in, so I would get rid of it and play it as it comes.”

‘ATP must do something if they want us to play important tournaments’

Alcaraz’s run to the US Open quarter-finals was his first tournament since the Barcelona Open back in April after suffering a wrist injury.

Speaking in New York, the Spaniard stated: “Honestly, my break was longer than expected.

“Given the packed schedule, I obviously didn’t want to stop because of an injury. However, in the future, I will take breaks, longer breaks. Maybe not four months, but one or two months, skipping certain tournaments, because it’s impossible to play them all.”

At the Laver Cup, which was won by Team Europe, Alcaraz said: “I think tennis has changed a lot. They have changed the balls, the courts, the speed of how we play, the movement is now more aggressive and you have to be prepared.

“We need weeks to practice and to make the physical training. There are more important tournaments making us play more and more, so I really want to takes breaks.

“Who knows what will happen in the future, but if the ATP and [chairman] Andrea Gaudenzi has to do something if they want us to play a lot of important tournaments.”

Italian Flavio Cobolli is also having second thoughts about the number of tournaments he plays in.

“If you look at the number of tournaments and the number of matches we play during the year, it’s not that high,” he said. “We’re used to playing that much. The only thing we’re not used to is staying at a tournament for so many days.

“The tournament format has changed, and maybe we still need to get used to it. I’ve now been away from home for almost a month and a half, and even if I had gone all the way here, I would have played fewer than 10 matches.”

Murray: I understand it from the players’ perspective

Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Jamie Murray said: “I can totally understand it from the players’ perspective. The Tour is longer than it’s ever been in terms of commitment and days away from home.

“These younger guys have seen how Roger [Federer] and Rafael [Nadal] have elongated their careers – how they finished their careers as well. If they want to play until they’re 34, 35, 36, they will probably have to skip tournaments and that’s something the Tour needs to consider.

“The Tour is catering for over a hundred players and they want to be out there competing.”

Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can watch the WTA China Open and ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters live on Sky Sports.

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano has told a meeting of fellow club chiefs their fight against the Premier League could take years to conclude, Sky News understands.

Soriano declined to answer questions from Sky News about the case as he left a private meeting of the executive board of the European Football Clubs’ body in Copenhagen.

But inside the room, sources have told Sky News that Soriano brought up the case against City, referencing the interest of other clubs – without directly mentioning the verdict of guilt over financial wrongdoing for years.

Soriano is understood to have referenced how it has been eight years since the allegations of misconduct were first made and how it will take a lot more time for a conclusion.

Sources say he expressed a determination to fight the case – with City able to appeal while there is a separate process that will determine sanctions.

Sky Sports News understands that the process is moving to the appeal stage, after reports claimed that most of the charges against the club for breaking Financial Fair Play rules were found to have been proven.

The Premier League and City have not denied that the club has been found guilty of the majority of charges which were first brought against them in 2023.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in a statement on Saturday: “The Premier League process still has a long way to run, and our confidence and intent in proving the club’s innocence is just as strong as when this began.”

City’s statement after latest reports

A City spokesperson said on Friday: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality.

“As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023.

“The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”

City’s initial response to Premier League charges

City were charged in February 2023.

At the time, they responded with a statement, which read: “Manchester City FC is surprised by the issuing of these alleged breaches of the Premier League Rules, particularly given the extensive engagement and vast amount of detailed materials that the EPL has been provided with.

“The club welcomes the review of this matter by an independent Commission, to impartially consider the comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence that exists in support of its position.

“As such we look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.”