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Thomas Tuchel has said England should not have an inferiority complex in relation to the world’s strongest teams but must start playing with a smile to realise their true potential.
The England head coach said his side “have not clicked yet” and, as well as criticising the attitude against Andorra on Saturday, believes the performance was too rigid and too serious. England’s labours in Barcelona were put into sharper focus by the quality of Portugal and Spain in the Nations League final the following night. Tuchel, however, insists England are not inferior to those nations and will improve, beginning with the friendly against Senegal in Nottingham on Tuesday.
“The level will increase immediately once we are playing against Portugal or Spain. We will rise to the occasion. This will come,” said Tuchel. “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. They 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. I struggle to say ‘we’ because we were not there [in the final of Euro 2024] but it was 1-1 and Spain scored in the last minute and that gave the title to Spain. We have what it takes to compete. We need to improve, for sure. We have not clicked yet.”
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach, like many of his predecessors, is already wrestling with the dilemma of why so many gifted individuals do not bring their club form on to the international stage. “That’s the question that needs to be answered,” said Tuchel. “I think that even Cole [Palmer] struggled lately at Chelsea to have an impact. Phil [Foden], unfortunately, struggled over many months now to have the impact that he can have.
“It is a different strategy [with England], it’s different principles of the game and to make everyone play to the same rhythm, to make everyone play to the same principles, takes obviously a little bit more time than we would like. I see the structure in the game, I see the control, I see the amount of passes, but we can do better. We can be more fluid. We can be more exciting which since a longer time I feel has been a bit of a problem. I feel it’s a bit stuck, serious, I see us train with a smile but not play with a smile.”
Jude Bellingham missed training on Monday to attend a family funeral but rejoined the squad later in the day. Tuchel indicated he could change goalkeepers against Senegal and would have to be careful with the minutes given to players heading to the Club World Cup.
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“It is not so many players,” he said of the tournament. “But I think it will have a huge impact and will give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage next season to not be there. We will deal with the effect when the effect comes.”
