England defender Nico O'Reilly has revealed the key change Thomas Tuchel made to his team-talk following England's 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, which booked their World Cup quarter-final spot.
Tuchel's psychological catchphrase evolves
Tuchel has adopted a psychological catchphrase about how his players must keep “pounding the rock” to maintain their levels of effort in the tournament. However, O'Reilly disclosed that after the Mexico win, the England boss paid the players the ultimate compliment by insisting they have become the rock.
O'Reilly said: “We've had this thing where he's been saying after the match that we're in the grind, this is the grind part and that we've been pounding the rock, breaking teams down and breaking teams down. But he said in this game we were the rock. They were after us. But we managed to get the win, we managed to get over the line. And I think it's important in tournament football to be able to adapt and play like that.”
Character and invincibility
The Three Lions defender believes the famous win – arguably England's greatest on foreign soil – has left the squad feeling invincible ahead of Saturday's quarter-final with Norway. When asked what England can take from that game, O'Reilly told the FA’s Lions’ Den show: “Character. I think character. But I think every single player within the team, the staff, showed character. Even when we were outnumbered, stuff was going against us, and we dug in to the very, very end. And I think if we continue to have this character, no one can stop us.”
Upcoming challenge against Norway
O'Reilly will be up against his Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland in Miami this weekend, with Norway having already beaten Brazil in this World Cup. But O'Reilly says England will be boosted by their own win over Mexico and the confidence it has given them.
O'Reilly said: “It’s special, very special, great feeling. But I think we haven't really got time to be celebrating yet. We've got another tough game coming and there's still a few more games to be played for the top eight places. Every team's going to be tough and we need to be ready. It’s special. We want to make a good example and make the country proud. I think that's our most important thing, just to show the love back to everyone that's showing the love to us. And the way we do it is by performing and getting the wins on the pitch.”
Fan support and preparation
O'Reilly also highlighted the role of the fans: “We did hear the fans in the stadium. We had the drums go off, but then as soon as the drums went, their fans would just whistle and do it. But yeah, nice great type of fans that support us. We need everyone behind us. They support us all the way. Obviously, the next game is on Saturday now, so we need a bit of time from now till then. So I think rest, recover and mentally prepare for that game is the most important thing.”
