Thomas Tuchel has expressed his burning desire to bring the World Cup back to England, describing the country as the "motherland of football." The German manager, who took over after Gareth Southgate's near-misses, admits he has fallen in love with international football and feels a huge burden to deliver the trophy. England face Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami, with victory putting them 90 minutes away from only their second final in history.
Tuchel's passion for 'It's Coming Home'
Tuchel is well aware of the famous song "It's Coming Home" and gave a passionate explanation of its meaning. He said: "Well 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, and also we have to stop looking back now."
The manager stressed the importance of focusing solely on Norway. "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. And that started today. We had enough time to digest." He added: "Football and the World Cup in itself is there to make a country, and make our fans dream and believe and excite them. This is what it's for. And we're on the best way to do that. And we want to take the next step."
Norway's threat and Haaland focus
Despite England being fourth in the FIFA rankings compared to Norway's 19th, Tuchel refuses to underestimate the opposition. Norway knocked out Brazil in the previous round, with Erling Haaland scoring seven goals in the tournament so far. Tuchel said: "That's just what it is. They over perform. But I think internally they know very well how good they are, they know very well how many problems they can cause to any team in the world. They proved it. They eliminated a big, big, big nation on a big stage and I think from then on there is no such thing any more as favourites. It's quarter finals, everyone plays to win the competition and everyone has the right to dream and fight for the win."
Tuchel acknowledged the challenge of stopping Haaland. "You can't avoid focusing, for sure not. There is so much quality in these moments and you have to make decisions, how to defend it. He will always arrive on the second post. The whole world knows it – he loves to arrive on the second post so the question is when to make contact with him." He explained the tactical dilemma: "It's also a type of defender type of thing. Some defenders like to stay zonal and get the earlier jump, some defenders like to step back and start fighting with him on the ground physically – but then he pushes you maybe aside and gets a free header. If you stay zonal he jumps over you. So he has all the weapons once you arrive in the box."
England's identity and areas to improve
Tuchel reflected on England's performance so far, admitting they have not fully stamped their identity on the tournament. He said: "What is the identity actually? And what do we mean with it when we say this word? And then I thought: I still see that we play with wingers, we play with high wingers, it's a form of identity. We try to implement the high press. We have mentality … because the Premier League …. what is the identity of the Premier League? They have so many different styles."
He added: "I know what you're looking for but it's difficult to create in a short moment of time so what we try to do is patterns, we play with high No 10s, we play with wingers, we play on the front foot, we play with in-swinging crosses. But the determination and team spirit is also an identity." However, Tuchel stressed the need for improvement: "I even still think now that we have to work on the sporting side of things. We need to play better. We need to spend more time in the opponent's half. We struggle too much to overcome a high press of the opponent. And we need to be better in the deep build-up. We need to be better in the high press. More connected."
Tuchel's lighthearted moment
In a lighter moment, Tuchel joked about his past comments regarding Haaland. After winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, he had said he wanted to sign Haaland, later apologizing. When reminded that German newspaper Bild had named him Coach of the Year, Tuchel quipped: "I always need to apologise. They don't get my humour! Anyway, were you surprised that Bild gave me an award? Yeah…there was no way out. Because if Jurgen Klopp won at the same time the Charity Shield they give it to him…"
Team spirit and the road ahead
Tuchel praised his players for overcoming a difficult group and the emotional win over Mexico. He said: "I don't feel our players playing with fear. I don't feel the weight of the shirt. We overcame a difficult group, we had good and difficult steps, in this in-between period. And now we go, no matter who's on the other side, no matter if we are favourites or not, or if the pressure's on, it's just what it is."
England have not won a major trophy since 1966, and Tuchel is determined to change that. With a place in the semi-finals at stake, the nation's hopes rest on his shoulders as he aims to bring football home.
