England have 90 minutes until the World Cup semi-finals when they face a Norwegian side in Miami fueled by Erling Haaland’s goal.
Tuchel implored England’s stars to be brave against Norway (Image: The FA via Getty Images)
Manager Thomas Tuchel has told his England players to be brave and have no regrets ahead of the biggest game of their lives. Tuchel has issued an exciting message to his heroes ahead of their World Cup quarter-final match against Norway in Miami.
England manager Tuchel insisted the business end of the tournament begins now and promised to prepare for the match against Erling Haaland and others.
Tuchel said: “This is the exciting part for me, but we have to let go. Now we have to connect with our identity, connect with what makes us strong, lead and be brave. We need to be brave now. It’s the quarter-finals. Luck will be on the side of the brave.”
“And when we play in the quarterfinals, we can’t have any regrets. We have to go for it, this is the most important thing.”
England were forced out of their group and it took a heroic performance against Mexico and a late Harry Kane double to defeat the Democratic Republic of Congo.
But Tuchel said England’s season would be like winning the Premier League or the FA Cup, and that as long as they won trophies no one would remember how they got there.
Tuchel added: “In general, I think what we need to do in the round of 32 and the round of 16… That was the way we assembled with the team. Just find a way to win.”
“If you want a Premier League picture, it’s January, Sunderland, the FA Cup, Sunderland away, Leeds away.
“Go. It’s an adverse situation. The weather isn’t great. I don’t like the referee’s decision. I don’t like everything. They’re in front. They have an advantage.”
“You just need to get it done. If you want to get to Wembley in the end, you need to get it done. Don’t go out in January or February. No one will ask you again how you did it.”
“And then the exciting times come. Then April comes, and then May comes, and things might get easier. And you have your identity, so you have to let it go.”
England are awaiting the status of Reece James, who has missed the last three games with a hamstring problem, while Jarrell Quansah is suspended.
Declan Rice and Mark Guehi have missed training this week, raising major concerns about their fitness ahead of the quarter-final, which will be played in front of a large crowd of England fans in Miami.
Meanwhile, Tuchel insists his players will be prepared for Miami’s scorching temperatures.
Tuchel insists players will be prepared for Miami’s sweltering weather (Image: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Forecasters are predicting heavy rain and even heat of more than 32 degrees for the World Cup quarter-finals in Miami.
It was the first time England had faced such temperatures, and although it rained in Mexico City, they were able to cope in Atlanta’s air-conditioned stadium and elsewhere.
But Tuchel said the preparation and study would pay off and give England a “slight advantage” against Norway.
“The science says we’ve had a lot of heat training, and that’s going to help us. We’ve spent a lot of time in the heat this week, today, and we’ll go from there. Subjectively, for me it’s always like, ‘Are we really ready for that?'” Tuchel said.
“When I got off the plane in Miami, I expected to feel some pain. Maybe we were still lucky and there were dark clouds over the stadium again! And then it was all rain. That’s what it looked like.”
“But when we started this journey together in America, everything we did, how we trained, where we trained, everything was about preparing. That’s what the science says. So, I hope that gives us a little bit of an edge. We’ve been storing it up in the hot training sessions, so we haven’t lost it.”
“But, of course, as you said, the game was played indoors and it was actually very cold in Mexico, so no one could have predicted that. Now it’s expected to be a tough game. But for the opponent as well.”
Tuchel also said he hoped England enjoyed Miami as much as they enjoyed Mexico City.
He added: “I loved this experience in Mexico, changing countries and flying to such a soccer country, such an emotional country.
“Practicing on this field was very special, and being able to play for the Aztecs and have a game like this was really the whole experience.”
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