Thomas Tuchel has delivered a scathing assessment of England’s performance under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024, saying that they lacked “hunger” and “identity” last summer.
In a sign of his desire to make a clean break with his predecessor’s era, Tuchel shed any pretence of diplomacy. The German was forthright on England’s laboured performances during a tournament in which fans and pundits turned on Southgate, saying the side played with fear and showed no excitement before losing the final to Spain, and his comments were backed up by Harry Kane’s admission that the squad was “a little bit light on leadership” in Germany.
Southgate caused surprise inside the camp by taking a host of inexperienced youngsters to the Euros and leaving out senior figures such as Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish and Jordan Henderson, who was handed a shock recall by Tuchel last week. Henderson’s return was backed by Kane, who praised the midfielder’s ability to lift teammates in difficult moments.
There was a stir when Tuchel’s take on England’s efforts last year was publicised. Asked by ITV whether he thought the team had a clear way of playing before his appointment, the head coach said: “Not last summer, no.”
Tuchel, who takes charge of his first games when England open their World Cup qualifying campaign by hosting Albania at Wembley on Friday and Latvia on Monday, did not drop the honesty after being pressed on what was missing. “The identity, the clarity, the rhythm, the repetition of patterns, the freedom of player, the expression of player, the hunger,” he said. “They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament in my observation than having the excitement and hunger to win.”
The aim is to restore the excitement to England’s play. “That was my feeling watching on TV, long before I knew I would be in charge,” Tuchel said. “I want us to play with a hunger to win and we want to implement the togetherness and joy to win, rather than the fear to lose.”
Tuchel considered the notion that the shirt weighs heavily on England’s players. “I know what the players mean,” he said. “It maybe is another way to put what I felt watching the Euros. I felt tension and pressure on the shoulders of the players, and it felt to me that they were more afraid, like they were afraid not to lose and not to have even more pressure added.
“We need to turn this around because we have so many experienced players, so many players who won the trophies with their clubs. I think we have every right to be self-confident.”
Kane, who knows Tuchel well from their time at Bayern Munich, had a similar view on the Euros. “Maybe we didn’t play as freely as we had done in the past and what we could have done,” England’s captain said. “Thomas definitely wants more high tempo, especially without the ball. When we lose the ball, just energy.
“Especially at home at Wembley in these games, almost creating the atmosphere yourselves. That’s what we’ve got to try to do. It’s a new beginning. It was really successful with Gareth and that era of English football. We got to two finals, we got to semi-finals, but it’s about making the next step.”
Part of the reason for bringing back Henderson at 34 is the former Liverpool captain’s leadership. “Whenever you go to major tournaments, I don’t think it’s just about having the best players in the best moments,” Kane said. “It’s about creating an environment where you allow other people to thrive, people knowing their roles within the squad.
“I would say we were a little bit light on leadership in the summer. Especially when things are not going so well, or there’s a lot of noise around the camp, that’s when you need players like me and someone like Jordan. It’s great to have him. We complement each other very well in the way we lead.”
Tuchel, who sees Jude Bellingham as a No 10 or a No 8, will not follow in Southgate’s footsteps by addressing political or cultural topics.
“I don’t need it,” he said. “In my contract I named myself head coach, not manager … I understand from your perspective maybe the importance of the role, but maybe I can hide a little bit behind being not English and not talk to everything that happens in your country. I think at some point it must be allowed for a football team that is sent to a World Cup to be a football team and not be a political statement.”
