Emotions of a Nations League match cannot pulse to the same levels as the World Cup but Tuchel needs to reconnect
Thomas Tuchel has pictured the scene. It comes after the final whistle has blown on England’s Nations League opener against Spain on Saturday night, the first post-World Cup fixture for both teams, and it has Wembley swaying to the strains of Wonderwall. It is a moment of communion, a reconnection with the Oasis classic that was the soundtrack to England’s World Cup campaign, which delivered so much only to end in such disappointment.
“Do I think it will happen tomorrow?” Tuchel said, when asked if Wonderwall would play again afterwards. “I think it will happen if we win.”
There are a couple of counterpoints. The visit of Spain is certainly a glamour fixture and Wembley is sold out in anticipation, but it is not a World Cup knockout tie. The emotion cannot pulse to the same levels. Furthermore, Tuchel has first-hand experience of the vagaries of the Wembley crowd; its hard-to-please restlessness. He remembers the 3-0 victory over Wales there last October when England were 3-0 up after 20 minutes and how flat and quiet it came to feel thereafter. “We had an amazing performance against Wales and I was not so happy with the atmosphere, so everyone killed me for that,” Tuchel said. “The stadium is the stadium, the crowd is the crowd. It can be sometimes [like this] in international football … not tournament football. It can be difficult. I want to just say we produced some top performances, especially against Wales, and it was still not what I thought is deserved for the players.”
It is a strange time for Tuchel, who wants to look forward but continues to feel more than the occasional tap on his shoulder about the World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina, particularly the manner of it. He thinks his team’s achievement in getting so far has been obscured. The manager’s idea for the upcoming Nations League programme, when England will also face Czechia (home and away) and Croatia (away) was for continuity, to build on the positives from the World Cup. He wants to go all the way in the Nations League, not only to win a trophy but to ensure England will play high-quality opposition into June of next year. It would be the ideal preparation for Euro 2028.
The dynamics have shifted because of injuries to a host of key players, many of whom set the standards in the dressing room at the World Cup, driving team spirit. Tuchel has only 15 of his players from the tournament and he found himself talking about “mixed influences.” On one hand, the 15 are addressing an elongated international window after an elongated World Cup and a difficult pre-season. On the other, there are players who are back that were upset to miss out on the World Cup. They need to move on. Neither did Tuchel pull his punches about the nature of this window when England must play their four matches inside 11 days – Saturday-Tuesday twice over, with international flights in between. “This cannot be right,” he said. The club managers are worried about injuries. So is Tuchel. Saying that, he does not want to rotate too heavily with his starting lineups. He said Harry Kane was “desperate to start all four and there is a chance he will.”
Into the mix come Spain, the world and European champions, the team that do the thing that England seemingly cannot do when the pressure is on – cherish the ball, hold it like a comfort blanket, stifle resistance. Tuchel has dreamed of Wonderwall but a more negative thought nags away. What would be the reaction of the Wembley crowd if Spain hogged 65% of possession, played twice as many passes as the opposition and allowed precious little in front of their goal? It was what happened in the World Cup final against Argentina. It was what happened in the Euro 2024 final against England.
Tuchel admires Spain’s passing DNA and he was especially effusive about their defending. He called them “masters in delaying” opposing attacks and talked up how they “push you to wide areas from where they can initiate their press.” It is just so hard to create against them. What this game is about for Tuchel is his team showing they can impose their style against an elite-level team; the elite-level team of the moment. It is not about somehow copying Spain, becoming like them on the ball. It is about England showing their high-intensity football, their physicality, their speed and directness. Their ability to run with the ball, their press in the opposition half.
There is an argument that Tuchel needs a performance more than a victory, something to light the path ahead. He did not disagree. “Yes, of course, everyone does … performance gives you a better chance for results, 100%,” he said. “I’m the first one to say that we need to play better. Remember my interview after the Norway game [in the World Cup quarter-final]? I see the quality of our training and we are working on that translation on to the pitch. We are strictly looking only at the performance. We need to get it right. But I get what’s expected from us. We try to deliver.”
Tuchel offered an insight into the meeting he had with the players on Tuesday – the first collective discussion since the World Cup, in which one of the themes was their disappointment at not showing who they truly were against Argentina. “I’m not so sure if I believe the narrative: ‘If we would have gone out attacking and attacking, then it would not hurt so much,’” Tuchel insisted. “I have done attacking and lost finals. I have done defending and lost important matches. It hurts like hell [either way].
“I know what they mean, of course. I admire their honesty and desire. We try together when the next big pressure moment comes … to encourage everyone to go on the front foot and not to fall back and protect something. It is easier said than done because the high pressure comes in the high pressure moments”. Tuchel cannot escape them. Against Spain, he must put his best foot forward.
