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Thomas Tuchel says it is “of the utmost importance” for England going into the World Cup to be ready to face whoever they face and not worry. route or potential opponentThe 52-year-old urged his side to “arrive with hunger and enthusiasm and as a team” to seize the opportunity,
England were drawn into a group with Croatia, Panama and Ghana for the matches, mainly on the east coast, although the exact details will be confirmed at 5pm UK time on Saturday.
Tuchel admitted that some “surprises” were left out of the draw due to the fact that England were drawn in the final group, L, leaving limited options until the end of the season.
Although he spoke about the challenge of Croatia, the manager’s main message was for England to be prepared to face anyone or anything.
“I think it’s most important that we arrive with hunger. We arrive with hunger and enthusiasm and arrive as a team.
“We don’t worry. We don’t worry about our opponents. We don’t worry about what might happen, what happens in the other group – maybe some favorites finish second, and then we play them at the beginning of the tournament… Just focus on what we can really impress, and that’s what we did and the team has excelled in the last three camps.”
If England top the group and reach the second round, any last-16 match will take place at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, possibly against hosts Mexico. Tuchel expressed enthusiasm at that idea, not to mention a potential quarter-final against Brazil, but again reiterated the futility of thinking too far ahead.
“I would be excited to play in Mexico City, because I remember the World Cup there, and then I watched it as a teenager, and it was just like watching something from Mars or another galaxy, but to be there and then play a knockout game against Mexico?
“Someone said, ‘Whoever wins a medal in New Jersey, they absolutely deserve it in the toughest tournament ever.’ what did you just say [Mexico then Brazil] It looked like a pretty, very tough tournament.
“Anything can happen. Now we can’t get carried away talking about Mexico or Brazil. We don’t know if we meet them or not. We definitely don’t meet them if we don’t perform in a group, so we need to make sure we’re there and who joins us, we can’t impress everyone.”
With England now waiting to find out where and what time they will play, Tuchel spoke about the importance of lobbying the Football Association for the benefit of supporters.
“Obviously, there are two concerns, and for the fans, I’m sure [chief executive] Mark Bullingham will do everything possible to advocate for the interests of our fans.
“I just hope that as many fans as possible can make it. I understand how difficult it is, if the World Cup is in Mexico, Canada and the United States, just to get here, and how much it costs, and then finding tickets and finding hotels and whatever. Maybe, they have to be in the country for so long. I think I understand that we start late, and then we play a very abbreviated schedule. So maybe that prevents our fans from actually being in the country that much time. Spending helps, but I think it will be a big, big challenge for them and there are a lot of costs, so hopefully we can find some compromise to keep a lot of them in the stadium.
Tuchel said he already had a message from his former Chelsea player Mateo Kovacic about England’s opening match against Croatia.
“Yes, of course, they are tough. They are proud, they are full of talent. I’m pretty sure I already have a message from Mateo Kovacic on my phone. But yes, of course, we know them, they know us, it’s a big opening match, it could easily be the quarter-finals or even later in the tournament but it is what it is. I’ve always said don’t wish for things, we don’t want to avoid anything at all costs, so now we know. “Be prepared.”