Thomas Tuchel has called for England to shed any “inferiority complex” and start enjoying their football, as he spoke candidly about the challenges facing his squad.
The Three Lions manager was refreshingly frank in his assessment of the team’s dynamics, acknowledging that they have yet to gel during his tenure and emphasising the need for stronger connections on the pitch.
Tuchel expressed particular concern over the form of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, two of England’s key creative forces who have been underperforming at club level.
Despite these hurdles, Tuchel revealed that the England squad and staff watched the Nations League final together, maintaining a positive outlook and asserting that they have nothing to fear from heavyweights Spain and Portugal.
He confidently stated: “The level would increase immediately if we were all together in Munich at the stadium and playing against Portugal or Spain. We will rise to the occasion because it is very difficult. This will come. It will bring out the very best in us.
“We shall not develop a complex because there is no need for it. Spain qualified for the final four with a very lucky win over the Netherlands. Everyone is beatable.
“Spain play together in a fluidity and a rhythm which is outstanding and the highest level. It is one of the most difficult things to do, to play Spain in a final.
“But we have what it takes to compete. We need to improve, for sure. We need to improve in connections, in support, in interactions in the group. I feel we are too isolated on the pitch. We have not clicked yet. I don’t see it has clicked between the players.
“Like I said we train with a smile, we train very lively, we train with a lot of instructions. I feel the group in training and it comes easy, not easy, it is natural to them.
“We can be more exciting, which, I think, has been a bit of a problem for a long time. I feel we are a bit stuck, I feel like we are a bit serious … .I see us train with a smile but not play with a smile. I think we need to get the balance right.”
England’s star players Foden and Palmer have had disappointing seasons. Foden’s performance at Manchester City suffered a significant dip, resulting in his omission from the squad for the match against Andorra and the friendly with Senegal.
Palmer was substituted during the match against Andorra on Saturday and has struggled to deliver his best performance for England when starting games. However, he made a significant impact when coming off the bench during last summer’s European Championship.
His form at Chelsea also experienced a mid-season slump.
Tuchel said: “At the moment, I think that even Cole struggled lately at Chelsea to have an impact. Phil, unfortunately, struggled over many months now to have the impact that he can have.”
Thomas Tuchel contemplated on the dilemma faced by England’s footballers, remarking, “So, the question would always be: ‘Do we then invite them and create an atmosphere that he can still perform here?’ It’s difficult to prescribe freedom, to play with freedom and suddenly everyone plays with freedom.
“We haven’t done that yet, but it’s also not the moment to look only on the negative side. We have a lot of positives to take away in training and in the sessions I see a lot of it, and it will take a little bit to translate it to the pitch.”
The Chelsea boss further probed the notion of whether the weight of the iconic England jersey exerts undue pressure. “I heard it many times, but what does it mean?” challenged Tuchel.
“Like a heavy shirt? Do we expect too much? Don’t we feel the freedom?”.
“Do we not feel the same freedom to express ourselves that we feel like in the clubs? Does Phil feel free in his club, is he really free in his club to express himself? Not since many months, he also struggles there.”
Tuchel emphasised the need for increased dynamism in the game, stating, “I do feel we need to increase the rhythm. I still think that we can increase the rhythm in our game, like finding the right players that can play together.”