Thomas Tuchel: England ‘need to be brave’ against Norway
· Yahoo Sports
Thomas Tuchel wants England to show bravery and leave the World Cup quarter-final against Norway without regrets as their quest to bring football home continues.
Having started the knockout phase with a scare against the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Euro 2024 runners-up overcame all manner of obstacles to win their last-16 tie in Mexico.
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Tuchel says the thrilling 3-2 victory was the “full package of an experience” but that success amid adversity has been left in the rearview mirror as England refocus on Saturday’s meeting with Norway.
Heat, humidity and the small matter of keeping Erling Haaland quiet are among the hurdles facing the side in Miami, where the German boss wants his players to step up another level.
“I think in general what it takes in the round of 32 and the round of 16, how we framed it with the team was it’s just you find a way to win,” Tuchel said ahead of the Hard Rock Stadium encounter.
“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.
“This is now for me the exciting part, but we need to let go, we need to now connect to our identity, connect to what makes us strong, be on the front foot and be brave. We need to be brave now.
“It’s quarter-finals and the brave will have the luck on their side. And we cannot have any regrets when we play a quarter final. We have to go for it, this is the most important thing.”
An Atlanta semi-final against reigning world champions Argentina or Switzerland will be the reward should England keep their hopes of bringing football home alive.
It is 30 years since the phrase became part of English culture and twice as long since Alf Ramsey’s side lifted the World Cup.
“I understand,” Tuchel said of ‘football’s coming home.’ “I clearly understand. 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, and 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.
“We had enough time to digest. Football and the World Cup in itself is there to make a country, and make our fans dream and believe and excite them. This is what it’s for.
“And we’re on the best way to do that. And we want to take the next step.”