Stuart Pearce believes England and Thomas Tuchel must make the most of their chance to make history at this summer’s World Cup – as they don’t come around very often.
Stuart Pearce wants England to do justice at the World Cup (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Stuart Pearce insists England players must seize the once-in-a-lifetime chance to win the World Cup. And the Three Lions icon says “fantastic” Thomas Tuchel could be the man to lead the Three Lions to glory in the United States this summer.
Pearce will be remembered as England’s greatest player, winning 78 caps, but he only appeared in one World Cup, suffering a heartbreaking defeat at Italia 90 in the semi-finals, losing on penalties to West Germany.
People think Pearce is an Englishman who hits the bathtub, but the former Nottingham Forest left-back – nicknamed Psycho because of his hard-nosed reputation – claimed he believes Tuchel can provide extra yards over the line.
“I’m excited,” said Pearce, 64, who is now a media commentator. “Once you get back into it as a player, coach and manager, you’re going to be nervous because you’re hoping your key players don’t get hurt.”
“From a personal point of view, I have played for the national team for 12 years but only played in one World Cup, so I rarely play in World Cups.
“I’m sure the players are looking forward to this. It’s a great opportunity and it’s an exciting time for me as well, working on the media side.
“Tuchel has a very good impression of me. I think people have pre-judged me and maybe don’t want a foreign manager like Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, who I’ve worked with, to be in charge of England.
“But I think whoever is the manager, we have to be right behind him. I had a long interview with him (Tuchel) on talkSPORT last summer and he seemed really good and very open. If you ask him a question, he’ll give you an honest answer, which is quite rare in this day and age, especially in the position he’s in.”
“As we’ve seen over the years, if we get a little bit of momentum and then he balances it with the right formula, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”
Pearce represented England at the World Cup and the European Championship (Image: Offside, Getty Images)
Pearce said England were probably second favorites to win the title but they had world stars in Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham and that was the crux of Pearce’s point, saying they may not be given many more chances.
The Three Lions went close under Gareth Southgate. But now Tuchel, an elite manager who won the Champions League, has been brought in to help them win the World Cup.
Pearce added: “France and Spain, if I had to pick two, I’d call them the favorites. If we drop down the table, it’s going to be tough to beat us. If you put it that way.”
“But I’m interested to see how we do because[Tuchel]was brought in to go a step further than Gareth Southgate and Gareth has taken us to the later stages of these tournaments. He’s got a great record and I’m acutely aware of that.”
“We’re all interested to see where Tuchel will take us. Experience may be important as a manager, but as I found out during my playing days, it takes big tournaments to find out what international football is all about.”
Thomas Tuchel and England aim for world domination at the World Cup (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.)
“A lot of managers have come and they think they can take what they’ve done at club level and apply it to the international team.
“But international teams are completely different. How much you train your players at the end of the season, how much you rest them, all that comes with experience, and Gareth understood that from his experience as a player and as a coach.”
“But for Thomas Tuchel himself, it will be interesting and a great learning curve. I’m really happy that his contract has been extended and there will be no boom-bust mentality after this.”
“If his contract had expired this summer, they might have turned around and said, ‘Okay, it didn’t work out, good luck.’ But at least they can learn from it and improve for the next tournament.”
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