Can Tuchel banish the World Cup demons? | Football Weekly
England v Spain is actually interesting. Thomas Tuchel says the World Cup got England one step closer to glory. Not sure all the fans agree. What reception will he get and how will he approach taking on the World Champions? Watch the full podcast episode ► https://youtu.be/xIcBT7d7lIs Subscribe to Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball?subconfirmation=1 We want your feedback! If you had any thoughts on our coverage of the World Cup, please let us know here ► www.theguardian.com/YTWorldCupSurvey The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► https://support.theguardian.com/ Guardian Football Weekly: https://www.tiktok.com/@guardianfootballweekly https://www.instagram.com/guardianfootballweekly/ Website ► https://www.theguardian.com Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/theguardian Bluesky ► https://bsky.app/profile/sport.theguardian.com Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardiansport/ The Guardian on YouTube: The Guardian ► https://www.youtube.com/@theGuardian Football Weekly podcast ► https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast Guardian News ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiannews Guardian Australia ► https://www.youtube.com/@GuardianAustralia Guardian Sport ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardiansport tuchel england worldcup
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Start with England, Spain. Uh, so we start touched on it on Monday. Five withdrawals since Tul announced the squad. Palmer, Rice, Mayu, Rashford, and Livermen were pulling out. They brought in two players, James Garner, and Morgan Gibbs White uh to fill the absence of those five. Um, obviously the the dropouts have led to a sort of frantic club versus country debate. Um I don't know se how much we can read into it especially Palmer Mayu and Rashford who might have good reason to be slightly annoyed with Tukul for what happened in that their World Cup. >> Yeah. Or maybe they just have, you know, just have legitimate injuries and possibly, you know, they need to have some rest and >> and the way Palmer started the season that, you know, having the summer off seems to have helped him a bit, but it's so difficult at this stage when we return to international football and you still have I still have the feeling of the World Cup and how it ended and the disappointment, but then that that third place match had something about it that I enjoyed as well and I thought is this can all international matches be a bit like this then then we'd all have international breaks that they can't. Yeah, we know that already. We know that >> um we don't know about conversations that happen privately between players and the manager. >> He seems to be an open manager in that regard. He would tell people what they what he thinks of them straight. Uh and that could be part of it. You you wonder with Kobe Mayu for example, I think he was brought as part of the World Cup squad maybe because of his temperament and that he wasn't really going to be that player who was going to cause issues if he wasn't selected. uh because there were opportunities for maybe him to be part of that tournament and it never came to pass even with Henderson getting injured for example. So it it has to be I think because of the length of the break that because of the way certain players have started Mayu's been pretty good as well. There is a protection thing they do have to think long term. I made think if I if I'm part of this international break and I push myself and it breaks my season I the way based on the past I might not be picked by Tukul again and and in the Morgan Gibbs White situation I mean having to be pulled out of your holiday after having the disappointment and maybe who knows for some people maybe that's a good thing being pulled out of a holiday with a family I mean I can't comment but all I'm saying is that for this particular situation he'll just be pleased to be part of the England squad he deserves it. >> Yeah. Um yeah I think he does. Tugal said he'd wished he'd eaten some of Aztec grass after the Mexico game and he said it feels like they're my players now. The World Cup represented something to build on. I'm very excited. I think we got another step closer and I think we're there. I Barry, I don't know that's how fans are feeling. I think it's really interesting to see. Obviously, you know, it's a different crowd at this game than the people that follow to a World Cup, but I wonder if the general sentiment is he needs to do something in this game or, you know, there are knives being sharpened. It's hard to know. I just time will tell what reception he gets. I suspect it will be mixed. But he says he he regrets not eating any of the Aztec grass. He certainly ate a big mouthful of this metaphorical pitch in in Atlanta. Um, I find the way he's trying to gaslight everyone into thinking that England's failure to close out the semi-final against Argentina that it was nothing to do with him whatsoever. I find it really strange partly because it seems to be working and [laughter] I I presumed he would be sacked after the World Cup because we were constantly told he was brought in specifically to do what Gareth Southgate couldn't get England over the line and win a major tournament. And when he made such a dog's breakfast in the second half of the semi-final against Argentina when England were really well placed to get to the final, a final they possibly could have won. I think they'd have given Spain a better game than Argentina did. And I' I read somewhere that Anthony Gordon said various Spanish players at Barcelona told him Spain would they thought England would have given Spain a much better game than Argentina did. I think anyone would have given them a better game than Argentina did. So, I presumed he would be sacked because he failed to do the job that was asked of him. But because they've given him this contract extension before the tournament, he hasn't been. Maybe he'll learn from from what happened at the World Cup and they'll go on and win the Euros, which is uh I don't know, but I I just find the whole thing weird. But I will be very interested to see what kind of reception he does get um from England fans because yeah >> I'm I'm not sure they're buying what he's trying to sell at the moment even if a lot of other people seem to be >> and Spain feels tough Paul you know they are good I'm trying to work out what a good outcome >> what is a good outcome for Tukul here right you know obviously you could like really mix it up and then result doesn't matter you could go listen result is everything here to get us all going well Okay. Or like you could I don't know. Do you think ahead to like what we didn't do against Argentina? Say pretend you're one nil up and just try and play differently. Obviously, you can't recreate the pressure of World Cup semi-final. I'm I'm I'm interested to see how he approaches it. >> Yeah. I mean, I think we're all looking for a 6-4, right? That's the precedent here. We Our last game was 6-4 against France. We expected 64. Um I I honestly think he he's he's kind of It depends which way you look at it. He's either on a hiding to nothing or he's got a completely free shot here because honestly no one really cares what the result is to a certain degree. I think what he would be well advised to do is to get England playing like a side that you know like the side that played France rather than the side that desperately tried to to sort of scuff their way through to a World Cup final. Um I actually think Tukul's done that thing that politicians do. You know when there's a politician and you think, "Oh, they're out." Like there's a scandal and you think, "Oh, they're gone. there's no way to survive this. If they can just get out of public sight for long enough, >> then you know it kind of dissipates and everyone's like, "Oh yeah, there was that thing." And actually, we were all really angry with that, but they somehow kind of weather it and then they're still there in that job sort of 6 months after they've given the nuclear codes to to another country. They're still there somehow. And you're like, you you didn't go. And I feel like Tukul's in that kind of position where he looked like a dead man walking. He's now not. But I I don't think he's got a huge amount of support from the fans at all in my opinion. I I think he is gaslighting people if he's saying it's not his fault. It was >> it was very clear if if the public could have sacked him on the spot after that after that semi-final, he was he would have been gone. >> Yeah. No, that is interesting, isn't it? And and then you wonder if actually does it matter how they do in this nation's league set like do we say really it's you know he now has the next and like look I don't mind if you have him or someone else it's probably better to say the Euros is yours whatever happens in this it's a tough nations league um or or like do you think there is a pressure whereby they get toned by Spain this is a bad it's four games it's a lot of games here's a bad run and they go you Now it's at a case where the international break is so long that that people go, "Well, the Premier League time is a good time for international managers to get sacked." You know, it's a dangerous time for him, the two weeks of Premier League football we have before the next international break. But like, do you do you It's interesting. It's It's hard to know what pressure he's under from the FA. >> Well, I remember Sir Gareth, he lost to Hungary, didn't he, thumping at home, Molyneu, I think it was. And I remember at the time the pressure really was on Southgate considering what he'd achieved with England before that. I I think it matters. These games do matter because the public has to build up a narrative, don't they? That we have to build up a narrative about the England team and where they sit. If they play Spain off the park, very unlikely, but if they play Spain off the park, then the expectation is back again and people will look at regret and say, "Well, if we'd reach the final, if if Spain come to Wembley and teach England a lesson and and pass the ball around them, then I think the pressure is on him because ultimately the standard that England have set and they're a victim of their own relative success is that the only thing England have now is to get over the line and win a trophy. It's not a case of celebrating semi-finals like we used to. You know, growing up a semi-final was a massive thing. There'd be documentaries and films about it. Now it's the bare minimum and the the gutting disappointment to be 1 nil up against Argentina in a semi-final and have England's best finish in a in a major tournament in ' 66. That's that's what he's been brought in for. But because he was given a contract not that long before the World Cup, you can't really then sack him after the World Cup just because of the financial commitment that the FA has made. Imagine that they'd done that and people would think there'd be complaints about that at the same time. They'd say, "Why have you brought this man in, given him a contract? He's finished third and then you've sacked him." [laughter] >> Yeah, that's true. I mean, I think the contract didn't the contract came in because they thought Premier League clubs were sniffing about, I guess. So then you kind of do have to make make a call or not. Barry, I mean, who who would you like to see get some minutes [snorts] uh for England? Or maybe you don't really care who who who [laughter] gets any. That's very bare. [laughter] You know, I think Gordon said he said that England should stop trying to play like Spain because it's not in our DNA, which I slightly laughed at in the pure sense that Spain, you know, when it comes to football, you know, yeah, they're quite good. They win trophies. I get his point because I think it has harmed Germany in recent years in particular >> this strive to maybe be a bit different and to lose your sense >> but I don't think we've tried to play like Spain isn't the whole idea we trying to play like >> but if we played like Spain in the last 20 minutes of the Argentina game of course >> then they'd probably question do we do we have players who can play like Spain right I mean that's an interesting field is going for 100 million and you think you'd like to have a bit of ticky tacker in a 100 million pound player wouldn't But >> maybe yeah, >> we got got a few of them. But yeah, I I mean I' I'd like to see a right back play. Um that would be nice. And we've got one in the squad who's quite famous. >> Yeah. >> So uh yeah, let's see how that goes for Trent if he starts him. He probably play Kanza or Conza at right back, wouldn't he? >> Yeah. No, it's a nice idea, isn't it? He said Trent Alexander Arnold came in as a right back. I think Mars Lewis Skelly is quite interesting. There's no clamor. The England public were making this quite a good point I think Paul about Lewis Skellyy like like there is a clamor for Alex Scott and Adam Wharton and Kobe Mayo and I like all those players but Lewis Skelly is you know often starting center mid for the best team in the country after Brighton and uh and yet there isn't this kind of Lewis Skellyy clamor but I quite like to see a bit of him I quite like to see a bit of moa um I mean I care a bit more than Barry but I'm not I'm not like on tent hooks to see what the starting 11 Yeah, I'd Oh, I'd like to see um Alex Scott play, but that is just partly my Bristol City head like you know, a player that was so brilliant for us. It's lovely to see him kicking on as as he has. Also be lovely to see someone from Gernzi in the England team, right? Uh but we're clutching at straws here a little bit. I would also like to see Konza and Kwanza so that we could see if we could get the most rhyming team possible. And I think if there is a time for that, it's the Nation's League, right? if we could see if we could get an entirely rhyming England team. >> I mean, I'm now obviously just trying to think of footballers that rhyme with Konza and apart from Konza, you know, I am I am struggling. But anyway, uh England play checker on Tuesday. Look, we have so much England to talk about uh in the next few pods. Uh so we'll wait and see what happens on Saturday and digest it on Monday.