Thomas Tuchel has urged his England players to embrace the excitement of the World Cup knockout stages and to play with bravery and front-foot intent in Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway in Miami. The manager compared the team’s progress to scraping through difficult away ties in the early rounds of the FA Cup and stressed it is time to shed inhibitions and go all out for victory.
Tuchel: 'No Regrets' and 'Be Brave'
“This is now for me the exciting part but we need to let go,” Tuchel said. “We need to connect to our identity, connect to what makes us strong, be on the front foot and be brave. It’s the quarter-final and the brave will have the luck on their side. We cannot have any regrets when we play a quarter-final. We have to go for it. This is the most important thing.”
England have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in their two knockout matches so far. They came from behind to win 2-1 against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then held on with 10 men to beat Mexico 3-2.
FA Cup Analogy
“I think in general what it takes in the round of 32 and the round of 16 … it’s just you find a way to win,” Tuchel said. “That was how we framed it with the team. If you need a picture from the Premier League, it is January. It’s Sunderland, FA Cup. It’s away in Sunderland. It’s away in Leeds. You go. It’s adversity. It’s not good weather. You don’t like the decisions of the referee. Everything feels bad. They are on the front foot.”
“You just need to get it done. If you want to be at Wembley in the end, you just need to get it done. Don’t go out in January, don’t go out in February. No one will ask you any more how you did it. And then comes the exciting times. Then comes April, then comes May. Things can become easier and then you have your identity and you have to let go.”
'It's Coming Home' Sentiment
Tuchel was asked about his understanding of the famous “it’s coming home” fan chant. “I clearly understand,” he said. “And we’d like to make it happen. It’s the motherland of football. It’s Wembley. It’s the cathedral of world football. So this is why it should be coming home. But we have some steps in between.”
“We cannot get carried away … not to look too much further up front. Also, we have to stop looking back now. That is what we agree with the team. We draw a line in the sand. It’s no more Mexico. It’s only about Norway. Football and the World Cup is there to make a country and our fans dream and believe and excite them. We’re on the best way to do that. We want to take the next step.”
Team News and Injury Updates
Jarell Quansah is serving a two-match ban and will not be available, with Djed Spence expected to come in at right-back. However, Tuchel received a boost as Reece James, Marc Guéhi, and Declan Rice trained in Miami on Friday evening after injury and illness concerns. Guéhi has been managing a hamstring problem since the win over Mexico but is hopeful of starting in central defence. If there are any late concerns, Dan Burn could take his place. James has missed the last three games with a tweaked hamstring but could be on the bench. Rice should start in midfield despite feeling unwell this week. Jordan Henderson is out with a fractured wrist.
