Thomas Tuchel has challenged his England players to prove they are winners against a Spain side that “has forgotten how to lose.” England travel to the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday for a winner-takes-all Nations League group decider against the world champions, who are on a record-breaking 43-game unbeaten run.
Spain beat England 3-2 at Wembley earlier in the group, but victory in Madrid would top the group for England and lay down a marker for the future. Tuchel insists England must attack Spain and impose their own strengths, rather than retreating as they did in the World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Tuchel demands attacking mindset
“It's a massive stadium, it's a massive occasion. It's a team that has forgotten how to lose, so of course it requires a top performance first of all, and if we can deliver this performance, it will give us a big boost,” Tuchel said.
“It's not a must-win game if you go to Spain. But I think the mindset is important that we got the win today to have this match would feel very, very different if not. So that is the first step, and now it's important that we play with the same mindset that we played at home, and attack them and try to make it a physical game, and try to impose our strength. I think that's what we want to see.”
England’s recent form includes a 7-0 thrashing of Croatia in Rijeka and a win over Slaven Bilic’s side again at Wembley on Thursday night, following the defeat to Spain and a victory over Czech Republic. Tuchel believes England have “come a long way since the summer” and have set up the final he wanted.
Spain are not unbeatable
“Push our limits. See where we are,” said Tuchel. “We all feel that we deserved more in the first game, so we want to take it back in the second. I think we're there, and I think we're ready to win on Sunday. I know what it takes, and like no one can ever guarantee it, but I think it's the moment to check how far we are and to push our limit and proof of concept.”
Tuchel pointed to Spain’s own vulnerabilities, noting they conceded big chances against Croatia and still won. “We had too many big individual mistakes in our own half on the night. But honestly, if you deeply look into the matches, even of Spain, they had some crucial ball losses against Croatia. They got away with it. They conceded some big, big chances against Croatia, and still managed to win the game in the end. So no one is unbeatable.”
Harry Kane missed a penalty at 2-1 in the Wembley defeat, a moment Tuchel described as key. “We need a top performance, and we're full of confidence, and we're getting there. I think it's exactly what we wanted, and we feel that we have something to take that we lost the last time,” he added.
