Thomas Tuchel says England will dare to dream of glory at the World Cup next summer and can deliver it if they bring a fighting attitude as he prepared for the draw in Washington DC on Friday.
The head coach is more confident of victory now than he was when he took over at the start of the year, having got to know the players better and sailed through qualification with eight wins out of eight and eight clean sheets. He believes the public are behind him and the team and his mood was bullish before the draw.
“Everyone knows that we cannot promise that we win it but they want to see a team, a team spirit, a team that gives everything and fights for each other,” Tuchel said. “If the players bring that then I think anything is possible. We will be brave enough to dream about it, we will be brave enough to try it.
“I feel the change in expectation and a change in the feedback I get from fans and people who I meet because they like what they saw. Am I more confident now? Yes. Because we have got better. We have to arrive and try to make a special thing happen but we cannot guarantee it.”
Tuchel said in interviews with the BBC and ITV that the draw would feel “surreal”. He was “curious and excited” and, channelling the “bring it on” spirit he has pushed with the players, he made it clear that there was no opponent he wanted to avoid.
“Absolutely not,” Tuchel said. “I am very superstitious about this. I learnt this in academy football in Germany and played 40 indoor tournaments and when you thought you had an easier group or wished for one, the opponent had the match of his day and beat you. We just want to know who we face and get the thing going.”
Tuchel was asked about the prospect of England being drawn in the same group as Scotland. “If it happens, it happens and we make the most of it,” he replied. “It will be a nice story. I have no wishes on opponents. I think if you wish for something and think you are superior, it’s close to arrogance and you don’t want to be arrogant. We want to respect everyone.”
The German talked about how he was ready to accept difficulties in terms of the heat and humidity that will await at many of the venues in the US, Canada and Mexico; the travel, too, even the potential for delays to matches because of thunderstorms. “It is more about the mindset than having a solution,” he said.
One solution to the extreme temperatures would be to keep the substitutes back in the dressing-room – something Tuchel did not rule out. “If this is what helps us later in the match when they come on … OK, we consider that as a possibility,” he said.
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Wenger backs France as ‘super-favourite’ for 2026 World Cup
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Arsène Wenger has described France as the “super-favourite” for next summer’s World Cup based on their enviable attacking options and major tournament knowhow.
The former Arsenal manager, who is now Fifa’s chief of global football development, cannot see beyond his native France, who won the World Cup in 2018 and were the runners-up in 2022.
The France manager, Didier Deschamps, can call upon an array of talent for his front line including Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Hugo Ekitiké, Marcus Thuram, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola and Michael Olise.
Wenger was asked to assess England’s chances and he essentially called them nearly men, though he accepted they too had the quality to win. However, it was not long before he found himself talking up France.
“England will be one of the favourites,” Wenger said. “They are always nearly there to win it – semi-finals, quarter-final, final. They have to make the next step. They have the quality to do it.
“I believe in Europe, trying to be as objective as possible, that France is the super-favourite just for one reason – it is the country which has more world-class strikers than any other country in the world. By having four knockout stages [in the expanded 48-team tournament] … to have such a bench with such good quality will make a difference.
“There is one thing that is important in life is that when you know you can do it … when you have done something, it gives you something extra, the belief that you can do it. France has been in the last two finals so we know they can be there and they have the quality of the players.” David Hytner
“Nobody likes it as I want the players to be out here and feel the energy and give the energy from the bench. But I saw teams doing this and players doing this at the Club World Cup [in the US last summer]. Hopefully we can avoid it. It is always better if they can be with us.”
Tuchel has been credited with bringing a “brilliant energy” to the job by the Football Association’s chief executive, Mark Bullingham; with generating encouraging levels of buy-in from the players. The manager’s first two camps last season were largely underwhelming but the team have since impressed with their performance levels.
“We’re really excited about where we are,” Bullingham said. “Thomas has come in and really hit the ground running brilliantly. You can feel the brilliant energy in the camp and see that the players are really responding well to him. We’re looking forward to the tournament.”
Bullingham said that the FA’s logistics team would spring into action as soon the draw is finished to secure the best possible training base. They have earmarked Kansas City as a preferred location due to it being situated in the middle of the US but much will depend on where England’s ties are played. The provisional plan is for a pre-tournament training camp in Fort Lauderdale where the team could work and also play warm-up matches at Inter Miami’s stadium. The club are co-owned by the former England captain, David Beckham.
“We’ve got a really clear plan and we’ve mapped out every eventuality depending on where we get drawn,” Bullingham said. “We’ve got a plan, as every leading country will have, to acclimatise and to give ourselves the best chance. We’ve got a brilliant team that’s put together some brilliant base camps.”
