Thomas Tuchel is determined to find the answer to England’s physical problems after gruelling Premier League campaigns, having noted that the team were “most comfortable” in terms of recent tournaments at the mid-season Qatar World Cup in 2022.
The head coach, who is preparing here for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Andorra, wants to harness the traditional virtues of the English game – namely pace, strength and aggression. But he is aware that searing temperatures await at many of the venues for the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico next summer and, as such, it will be vital to be able to play in different styles.
England looked jaded under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024 with some players, including the captain, Harry Kane, below their best, though they did battle through to the final.
“The tournaments are normally played after a long season and it is not maybe an advantage for us but it is just a fact,” Tuchel said. “It is maybe not a coincidence that players felt the most comfortable in the Qatar World Cup and suddenly the demands of the Premier League became an advantage because they were in the middle of it and they had an advantage over other players.
“It can be that at some point we need to adjust our style when it comes to tournament football, knockout football. Everyone wants to win, everyone wants to win in style. Can you really play the same game in 40C heat and humidity that you play in 20C in an evening match? These are some questions and I don’t have all the answers and I don’t have to right now because we still have one year to go. But we are on it to answer them.”
Tuchel reported that Bukayo Saka was a selection doubt for Andorra with an unspecified injury sustained on the final day of the Premier League season for Arsenal against Southampton. The winger trained fully only on Friday. He is expected to be fine for Tuesday’s friendly against Senegal in Nottingham. Ollie Watkins has a minor muscle problem and has withdrawn from the squad.
The international window comes before the Club World Cup, when 10 of Tuchel’s squad will be involved, including five Chelsea players – Reece James, Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke. The others are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Atlético Madrid), Kane (Bayern Munich) and Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli).
Tuchel claimed he had felt no pressure from club managers over the use of these players against Andorra and Senegal, although he said they should not worry because he had many players to look at and so would be managing the minutes regardless. The point was that they would be his decisions. It may be Andorra, ranked 173rd in the world, but it would be vital to go strong and get everything out of the game; to work on establishing patterns and principles.
“No coach has called me and there was no request from the FA,” Tuchel said. “We know the clubs have a lot of matches and the players go after to he Club World Cup. It can also happen that some players start twice for us but we have an interest to see a lot of players, so I think we will not upset anyone.
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“We expect a very deep 5-4-1 [from Andorra] and the main targets will be how do we arrive behind the back line, how do we arrive in the box, how often, how good do we find the rhythm to arrive in the opponents’ box. And how good is our reaction to ball losses to play counter-pressing. I don’t get lost in thinking about formations at the moment. It’s more about behaviour and giving headlines for certain matches.”
Tuchel said it was a “big loss” for the England under-21s to have been denied the services of Liam Delap for the European Under-21 Championship finals; the striker has just moved from Ipswich to Chelsea and will go with them to the Club World Cup.
Tuchel also sought to reassure Jack Grealish, who he has left out of his squad, saying he still loved him and considered him a part of the future with England. He added that he had spoken to Grealish after the FA Cup final when the winger was an unused substitute for Manchester City in the defeat against Crystal Palace.
