England head into the match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo as favorites, but manager Thomas Tuchel has warned fans that the match in the first World Cup knockout stage could be tough.
England manager Thomas Tuchel is eyeing a match against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 32.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has warned England fans not to expect “sexy football” but insists he “loves” the pressure of big games.
England will have to manage the level of expectations of being favorites to face the Democratic Republic of the Congo in their first ever World Cup final.
Tuchel has an outstanding winning record of 74 per cent in knockout football and says he will bring his expertise to the business side of the tournament.
England manager Tuchel said: “I just love it. I just love it. It gives you a special advantage. That’s what makes things like the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup so special.”
“But listen, matches like the first round of the FA Cup, the 32-a-side round and the Carabao Cup are not sexy. They are not attractive. You have to overcome them and later on they become attractive and become big events.”
“We need to overcome it, just like in the first round of the Champions League. We need to get out of the group, and we need to find a win. We need to exhaust our opponents.
“You know they have quality. We will now play against them again in the first knockout. We will play against a copy of Ghana, a copy of Panama, a team that is proud, a defensive team, a team that is committed to defense, a quick team, a team that is willing to counter-attack.”
Democratic Republic of Congo promises to give England another tough test (Image: (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
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“We need to get our expectations right because it will continue to be the same. Don’t get frustrated and keep believing because we have 90 minutes, we have 120 minutes and we have a lot of chances to win this game and that’s the focus.”
Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea and enjoyed great success at club level with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
But Tuchel insists he has a magic recipe, but will urge his players “not to panic” even if the final is tense and nerve-wracking.
Tuchel added: “I don’t think we have secrets. Of course we frame them, but normally this is what we do. We give them the headlines. What to focus on, what are the key messages.”
Thomas Tuchel has a knack for winning big knockout ties after winning the Champions League with Chelsea
“You all expect us to win, the fans all expect us to win, so we’re just matching our own expectations at this point. There’s no big payoff.”
“I don’t get much praise for it, but it can be tiring and a little nerve-wracking to play against a team that didn’t allow us many chances, or a team that didn’t allow many chances. Breaking this block can be monotonous.”
“But that’s where the energy is going and that’s where we have to be prepared not to panic. We don’t start doubting, we keep believing. That’s been our basis for the last four weeks to prepare at the highest level.”
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