Tag: Thomas Tuchel

England manager Thomas Tuchel is determined to harness Jude Bellingham’s “fire” to his side’s advantage rather than the Real Madrid star intimidating team-mates or raging at referees.

Tuchel suffered his first defeat in four games as England boss on Tuesday when Senegal became the first African side to ever beat the Three Lions in a 3-1 friendly win.

Bellingham thought he had made it 2-2 late on at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground only for the goal to be controversially disallowed before Senegal broke away for a third in stoppage time.

Tuchel had to restrain Bellingham’s protests at the decision at full-time and said it is a balancing act to retain the 21-year-old’s fight without it bubbling over.

“He has a certain something and brings an edge. It’s needed if we want to achieve big things,” Tuchel told talkSPORT. “It needs to be channelled towards the opponent and towards our goal, and not to intimidate team-mates or be aggressive towards team-mates or referees but always on winning.

“He has the fire – I don’t want to dim that, he should play with that as that’s his strength.

“But the fire comes also with some attribute that can intimidate team-mates. Sometimes you see the explosion towards referees and the anger in his game.

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“If he can channel this in the right way he has something that we need and that edge is hard to find.”

Tuchel, who won the Champions League at Chelsea and league titles with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, was hired with the task of ending England’s wait for a major tournament victory since 1966.

Under Gareth Southgate they reached the final of each of the last two Euros, plus a quarter-final and semi-final of the past two World Cups.

Tuchel has a richly talented squad to choose from but has so far failed to find the right blend in three underwhelming World Cup qualifying wins over Albania, Latvia and Andorra before the Senegal defeat.

“I already have an idea of what to do,” he added with one year to go till the 2026 World Cup begins.

“We did some experiments in the second camp, not everything was bad, we did some good things but the two games were not good enough.

“It was a good learning and it brings clarity. Each game is a learning situation and helps us mould the team and find solutions.”

Thomas Tuchel has urged England to play without fear after claiming they were “afraid” in a scathing assessment of their run to the Euro 2024 final under his predecessor Gareth Southgate.

Tuchel will take charge of England for the first time when they face Albania at Wembley today  in their opening World Cup qualifier.

The German, who started work in January after being hired in October, is keen to instil a more dynamic attitude in his squad after watching their angst-ridden performances in last year’s European Championship.

Although England reached the final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Spain, Tuchel was unimpressed by the fraught nature of their displays.

“They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament in my observation than having the excitement and hunger to win it,” Tuchel told ITV this week.

Asked what was missing from Southgate’s squad, Tuchel said: “The identity, the clarity, the rhythm, the freedom of players, the hunger.”

Southgate led England to two finals at the Euros but resigned after the Spain defeat, unable to end their decades-long trophy drought.

Tuchel wants to convince his players to buy into an attacking philosophy he believes can be the difference between success and failure at the 2026 World Cup.

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“It was just my feeling watching the TV, long before I even knew I may be in charge,” Tuchel told reporters. “I think it is a pretty clear statement and I don’t know how to put it in other words. I felt tension and pressure on the shoulders of the players.

“They were playing to not lose. We have every right to be self-confident. I want us to play with the excitement and the hunger and the desire to win and the joy to win and the acceptance of failure is part of it.

“We want to implement the togetherness and the joy and for everyone to feel safe to express themselves and give their very best. We want to play with a hunger and a joy to win and not with the fear to lose.”

England captain Harry Kane, who played under Tuchel at Bayern Munich, was one of several players criticised last year for his lacklustre displays at Euro 2024.

Kane agreed with Tuchel that England did not cope well with the burden of being title favourites.

“I think there was more expectation than we had at any other tournament. It was the first one where we were one of the favourites,” Kane said.

“Even though we leaned on experience from other tournaments, we just couldn’t find the rhythm. Thomas has obviously looked at that.

“He has spoken about interactions between each other on the pitch. He knows you don’t have to change everything but there are a few details that if you do change you have a greater chance of success.”

Tuchel has been impressed with the way England’s players have responded to his methods in their first training camp with the former Chelsea and Bayern boss.

“What I saw in the last days was amazing. I hope we can transport that into the stadium. There is a buzz for the first match,” he said.

“It’s also been a crash course for me in international football and how to adapt to the rhythm and being with the squad.”

Tuchel led Chelsea to the Champions League in 2021 and has won domestic titles with Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite his wealth of experience, the 51-year-old admitted to feeling anxious at the start of a new era for England.

 “I will be a bit nervous. Hopefully we can prove the point and take the first step. I have to make people believe in me,” he said.

Incoming England manager Thomas Tuchel has all the tools he needs to win the 2026 World Cup but finding the right balance for the team will be key, interim coach Lee Carsley said.

Carsley’s six-game stint in charge of England ended with Sunday’s 5-0 win over Ireland that secured promotion to the Nations League’s top tier.

German Tuchel, who previously managed Paris St Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, was appointed last month and will take charge in January.

Former manager Gareth Southgate led England to a World Cup semi-final in 2018 but Carsley thinks Tuchel can go all the way in 2026 at the tournament in North America.

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England have not won the World Cup, or any other major trophy, since 1966.

“I think we are in a good position to do that,” the 50-year-old told British media. “We have the talent to do it.

“I have been lucky now to be at the last couple of World Cups and the timing of the players being in form, physically and mentally, at the right time, picking the right squad.

“We have got all of the tools. We just need to play them in the order… We just have to find that balance.”

Carsley, who is returning to his role as manager of the under 21 side, handed out eight debuts during his stint in charge including Curtis Jones and Noni Madueke.

Thomas Tuchel said the offer to become England manager came at the right time as he aims to end the Three Lions’ wait to win a major tournament for the first time since 1966.

The former Chelsea boss was announced Wednesday as the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, who led England to back-to-back finals of the European Championship.

Tuchel, who has been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season, will begin his role in January on an 18-month deal to the end of the 2026 World Cup.

 “The offer came in the absolutely right time,” Tuchel said as he was unveiled at a press conference at Wembley. “Now I have to live up to it of course. I know that there are some trophies missing in the federation and, of course, I want to help to make it happen.”

Tuchel led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2021 and has also won major trophies in a decorated coaching career at Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

However, the appointment of a third foreign manager of the England men’s national team has drawn some criticism.

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Tuchel joked he was “sorry” for holding a German passport, but hopes to prove his doubters wrong with results. “Hopefully I can convince them and show them and prove to them that I’m proud to be the English manager,” added Tuchel. “I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country and the target for the next 18 months is (the World Cup), nothing else and the biggest one in football.”

England will be among the favourites for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico thanks to a richly-talented generation of players.

The Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said they had interviewed 10 candidates, including English ones, but that Tuchel provided the best shot at an elusive major title.

 “Thomas was absolutely outstanding, providing a really clear vision for the role and how he would work with our players to get the best out of them, and to give us the best chance in the World Cup,” said Bullingham.