England need hunger to win not fear to lose – Tuchel
England manager, Thomas Tuchel, says he wants the team to play with a “hunger to win” and not “a fear to lose” as he prepares for his first match in charge of the Three Lions on Friday.
England begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Albania at Wembley before facing Latvia on Monday.
Under former boss Gareth Southgate, England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but Tuchel was critical of their style of play at Euro 2024.
“I’ve heard a lot that it’s a heavy shirt. It is in fact not. But I know what the players mean,” he said in a news conference on Thursday.
“Watching the Euros I felt tension and pressure on the shoulders of the players and they were playing not to lose.
“I want us to play with excitement and the hunger and desire to win… and the acceptance of failure is part of it, especially in football.”
Southgate led England to the final at Euro 2020 and 2024 where they lost to Italy and Spain, respectively and guided them to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup and quarter-finals in 2022.
But the 54-year-old was criticised by some for a perceived safety-first style at Euro 2024, where England scraped past Serbia in the group stage before drawing against Denmark and Slovenia.
Wins against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands followed in the knockout stage but Southgate came under fire for being unable to get the best out of a star-studded squad.
He has never managed in international football but, on being appointed by the Football Association to replace Southgate in October, was tasked with trying to deliver a first piece of silverware since the 1966 World Cup at next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“We want to implement the togetherness and the joy and for everyone to feel safe to express themselves and give their very best,” said Tuchel.
“We want to play with a hunger and a joy to win and not with the fear to lose. Anything can happen in football we know this but the focus is on winning and having a higher number of touches in the opponent’s box, higher amount of attacks, and higher amount of high ball recoveries.”
Tuchel’s more attacking and front-footed style may be a welcome change for those England fans critical of Southgate’s style while his first squad selection appeared indicative of a focus on the next 18 months and winning the World Cup rather than longer-term squad development.
—BBC
