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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

Thomas Tuchel predicts 'surprises' for England after World Cup qualifying draw

New England manager Thomas Tuchel has predicted a "surprise" for the Three Lions during 2026 World Cup qualifying.

Tuchel will officially take over as Gareth Southgate's permanent successor on January 1 but was in Zurich on Friday to discover England's four opponents on the road to the next World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Three Lions will either begin their qualifiers in March or June, given they have been drawn in a five-team group, so Tuchel knows he may be thrown straight into competitive action before any friendly run-outs.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss, who is taking his first job at international level, has heeded warnings for his squad after being drawn with Serbia, Albania and Latvia.

"I have huge respect for Serbia and for Albania, they can always surprise [you]," he told Sky Sports. "They have a strong history of technical football, emotional crowds, two legends as managers.

"England have never played Latvia so it's a new experience for all of us and we have Andorra where we are huge favourites. But we have to qualify, this is the most important. There cannot be any other approach that take it seriously and with respect."

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