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Thomas Tuchel has warned that England will reach the glamorous part of the World Cup only if they remember not to panic when they face the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the last 32.
Although the German knows his side are heavy favourites to go through in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, he is wary of the threat posed by the DRC. England will be under pressure to break down a low block for the third time in four games and Tuchel is keen not to let anyone think a successful group stage is cause for celebration.
“We are not at the stage yet where you get full praise for what you do, because every one of us expects to win,” the head coach said. “Every one of you expects us to win, every one of the fans expects us to win, so we’re just matching at the moment our own expectations.
“There is not a lot of gain. There’s not a lot of praise. Still you face a team that don’t allow a lot of chances. It can be tiring, it can be a bit nerve-racking. It can be monotonous to break this block down.
“But that’s where the energy goes to, where the mindset has to be: that we don’t freak out; we don’t start to doubt. We keep believing and do our things. Encourage the players, because clearly there is commitment and togetherness.”
Tuchel has a fine record in knockout football and won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021. The Football Association hired him partly because of his record in win‑or‑bust matches.
“I just love it,” Tuchel said. “It just gives an extra edge. It’s what makes the FA Cup special and Carabao Cup. The first rounds of FA Cup and the rounds of 32s in the Carabao Cup, they’re not sexy. They’re not glamorous. You need to overcome them, and later it becomes glamorous, it becomes a big event. In Champions League, the first rounds, you need to overcome it.”
England drew with Ghana last week and took 62 minutes to open the scoring against Panama on Saturday. “You need to go out of the group, and then you need to find the win,” Tuchel said. “You need to wear opponents down. You know that they have quality.
“Now in the first knockout, we will face a copy of Ghana, a copy of Panama, a proud team, a defensive team, a committed team to defending, a quick team, happy to counterattack.
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“We need to get our expectations right, that we are not frustrated, that we keep on doing what we’re doing, that we keep on believing. Everyone expects us now to beat DR Congo. We are the first ones to expect it from ourselves. It just doesn’t mean that it will happen. We still have to do an awful lot to do it. But we still expect it from us, so fair enough.”
Tuchel wore a lucky pair of shoes through Chelsea’s Champions League run. He has not brought them to the US but has superstitious routines. Tuchel revealed that his daughters had given him lucky charms but he was not willing to provide further details. “I have my routines and my things I cannot talk about,” he said. “I believe if I tell you then it’s bad luck.”
England have been preparing for penalties and Tuchel must decide whether to ring the changes. Declan Rice will return in midfield and Djed Spence is likely to start at right-back, with Reece James hamstrung and Jarell Quansah out with a twisted ankle. Marcus Rashford will hope to keep his place on the left and there is a decision to make on whether Bukayo Saka, who has been managing an achilles problem, is able to start for the second time in five days.
Tuchel hopes that James and Quansah will be available for a possible last-16 tie in Mexico City on Sunday. “They’re getting closer and closer,” he said. “I saw both of them on the training pitch. In the nature of the injury Jarell is a little bit ahead of Reecey. The race was close to be in the match squad this time. We need to make sure they have more matches.”
