In this video
- Asked about the style debate after Spain, Tuchel said England showed their style, courage and identity for 90 minutes. They caused themselves problems with individual mistakes.
“I know what you mean, but it's a bit early in the group for a must win.”
- Asked about rotation, Tuchel said he would ideally love to field the same team, but must speak with doctors, physios and the players. Before the camp, his mindset was not to rotate too much.
- Asked if the schedule pushes teams into risks, Tuchel said he does not know, but finds this format the most challenging. His feeling at the moment is that it increases the injury risk.
- Asked what he expects from Czechia, Tuchel said England analysed only one Czech match, because of the new coach. It showed many patterns seen in Spain, including a very flexible midfield three.
- Asked about Declan Rice being at Friday's game when he did not have to be, Tuchel said he liked it a lot. Rice is gutted, he said, because he loves to play for England.
- Asked about conceding more, Tuchel called seven goals in two matches very unusual, but not a concern yet. England suffered from mistakes on the ball, especially in the deep build-up.
- Asked about James Trafford, Tuchel said it was important he stays in goal to build on this experience with the defence. England want to see who is ready to challenge Jordan Pickford.
Thomas Tuchel explains what went wrong against Spain despite seeing plenty of positives in the performance.
The England head coach felt his side showed courage, identity and attacking quality against the world and European champions, but admitted individual mistakes and a failure to turn promising situations into clear-cut chances proved costly.
Tuchel highlighted England’s problems in the deep build-up, saying they became their own biggest danger around the box when errors on the ball allowed Spain to punish them. He was more encouraged by the team’s organised defending, pressing and ability to push Spain back during England’s strongest spells.
England continued to attack while ahead and Tuchel believed his players had Spain under serious pressure before the momentum shifted late in the match. Despite conceding three goals, he insisted the defensive structure itself was not yet a concern.
The England manager now wants his side to reproduce the same style while cutting out the technical mistakes that hurt them against elite opposition.
