Thomas Tuchel wants his England players to thrive on the excitement of the latter stages of the World Cup and has demanded bravery and front-foot intent in Saturday’s quarter-final against Norway in Miami.
The manager likened the team’s progress so far to scrapping through difficult away ties in the early rounds of the FA Cup and said it was time to cast off the inhibitions and go all out for glory.
“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 run the gamut of emotions in their two knockout ties. They came from behind to win 2-1 against the Democratic Republic of the Congo before holding on with 10 men to beat Mexico 3-2.
“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.”
Tuchel was asked whether he understood the sentiment behind 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.”
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Jarell Quansah is serving a two-match ban and is unavailable, with Djed Spence expected to come in at right-back. Tuchel, however, was handed a boost by Reece James, Marc Guéhi and Declan Rice training in Miami on Friday evening after injury and illness scares.
Guéhi has been managing a hamstring problem since the win over Mexico but is hopeful of starting in central defence. His place could be taken by Dan Burn if there are any late concerns but Tuchel will hope to have a strong squad available. James has missed the last three games with a tweaked hamstring but could be on the bench, while Rice should start in midfield despite feeling unwell this week. Jordan Henderson is out with a fractured wrist.
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