Tuchel on missing key leaders during this England camp

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England boss Thomas Tuchel on missing key leaders during this England camp  31/03/2026  Wembley Stadium, London, UK

Transcript

00:00Who would like to go first?

00:07Thomas, hi.

00:08From a fan perspective, it's quite clear that you use this international break as a very sort of exploratory time,

00:14using your last chance before the World Cup to make some changes that you hadn't before.

00:19But how well do you think the experiments that you've made here are actually going to translate into your World

00:24Cup squad,

00:25given that they've now produced probably your worst set of results as England manager in an international break?

00:32Yeah, it is what it is.

00:34I think we got punished for not a lot against Uruquay in the very end,

00:38and today for one counterattack in the first half, where they managed to score.

00:48We knew that before. I knew that before.

00:51I'm disappointed with the result.

00:53Not everyone is, but I think it is worth to put it into perspective.

00:57I knew that we have a tough exam to play for in this window,

01:04because our players are heavily invested in club football.

01:08They're heavily invested in European football and in the physical toughest league that there is.

01:16We played against two top 20 teams, well-drilled, very good opponents, who arrived in their best lineup.

01:25We had a big change in the middle of camp.

01:27Suddenly after the match, we had seven, eight injuries who had to leave camp.

01:31So, it's not an excuse, it's just an explanation why things are not perfectly smooth and maybe perfectly on the

01:39highest level that we expect,

01:40and we expect it always from us.

01:43We made life difficult for ourselves because we narrowed the pitch down extremely in the first half and didn't use

01:50the fullbacks in the way that we wanted to.

01:54Second half, we did it better.

01:56We had more wits, we had more runs, we had more offensive actions with the correct energy and dynamic movements.

02:04So, that was a bit better, but we couldn't score.

02:07We couldn't score when the chances were there and the chances were there late.

02:11So, it is what it is.

02:12The most important is that we learn from it.

02:15This camp will not define us and we have two months' time to digest it, to take the learnings, to

02:22nominate our squad, to get players back healthy, hopefully.

02:26I hope they stay healthy, that we have the full choice and then we will pursue our dream from June.

02:33Alex.

02:35Hi, Thomas.

02:36You made qualification for the World Cup look really easy, but you're now without a win against the three highest

02:42-ranked sides that you've played.

02:44I know you've tried things in those games, but does it give you concern about not being able to beat

02:48the elite sides?

02:49No, it does not give me any concern.

02:52Jacob.

02:55Hi, Thomas.

02:56How do you feel Cole Palmer and Phil Foden did tonight?

02:59Do you feel you got enough from them?

03:03I'm not the biggest friend now to talk about individual, but of course, if we put offensive players on the

03:12pitch,

03:12we demand offensive actions, we demand creativity, we demand dribblings, we demand shots, we demand assists,

03:20and we clearly didn't have enough, could not create.

03:23We made it difficult for us to find them in the half spaces, we struggled to open up these spaces.

03:29We played against the deep 5-4-1, we didn't use the width of the field enough to make the

03:35difference,

03:35and our offensive players struggled to make the difference and to create something in one-on-one situations,

03:43because against the deep 5-4-1, you get basically no superiority through passing.

03:48You get it if you win one-on-ones, otherwise you will be always in equal numbers or in minority.

03:56And this is what happened in the first half, especially in the second half, Japan got a bit more tired.

04:02We invested more physically on the sides to open up the middle a bit more.

04:06It was difficult for both of them, but it was clear that they will get their chances.

04:11I need to see them.

04:14We had three camps where we did not open the door a lot for newcomers, so now we did.

04:23And we had to adapt to, I don't know, seven, eight, nine injuries in between camp.

04:31Again, I can put it into perspective, I will put it into perspective, but no but.

04:38That's just the way it is.

04:39Thomas, I know you were asked about this on TV, but does it concern you at all that in the

04:44absence of Harry Kane,

04:46you don't have the same kind of attacking threat?

04:49No, but in the absence of Harry Kane, we don't have the same threat.

04:53Bayern Munich, in the absence of Harry Kane, has not the same threat.

04:55No team in the world has the same threat.

04:58It's just normal.

05:02If top teams rely on top players and top nations rely on top players, that's just absolutely normal.

05:09I mean, on top of it, Harry dropped out, so we lost not only him as a player, but we

05:15lost him as a personality.

05:17It's always a bit disrupting if the captain leaves the last training after 15 minutes and is out of the

05:24squad.

05:26We lost Bukayo Noni, we lost Declan Rice, we lost John Stones, who are normally the core and the drive

05:35of this group.

05:37And yeah, it affected us because this is normal.

05:41They are the players to carry the quality, carry the momentum on their shoulder.

05:47And yeah, of course it affected us, but this is just normal, it's a reality.

05:54We can win games without Harry, we will win without Harry, we have won without Harry, but it's easier to

06:00win matches with Harry, of course.

06:03So Thomas, on that, do you understand why some, even other coaches have called Harry's teams, like Spurs, they call

06:12them the Harry Kane team because he's so important to kind of how the teams that he plays for, like

06:19his function in the team as well?

06:20Yeah, yeah, of course. Of course, I understand that. It's just, it's just, it's just the quality.

06:28Can you, is there a way, because you obviously changed the system today without him, without playing with a number

06:36nine.

06:36Yeah, we didn't change the system against Uruguay and played with a number nine.

06:40Today we played with just a different number nine and we played also with a nine with Phil Foden and

06:45later with Tom Zolenke.

06:47But I'm not looking for a second Harry Kane, there's just no second Harry Kane and there's also not an

06:52excuse.

06:53We were ready to beat Japan, we were ready to find solutions and to offer solutions to the team, but

06:59it was difficult, we struggled.

07:03Yeah, on top, Jude tried everything, like a player who can always make something happen in a one-on-one,

07:08who is always happy to carry responsibility and make something special happen.

07:13So, I think we miss a lot of key players and it's just a reality if teams like Uruguay or

07:19Japan come well-drilled in their top lineup, it's a difficult task.

07:26It was not necessary to lose the match, unfortunately we lost it, which is disappointing and I hate losing like

07:33no one else.

07:35And it will take a while to digest, but yeah, it will not affect us massively now for when we

07:41arrive in the U.S.

07:43Thank you for doing this. My name is Gakushi Fujiwara from the Asahishin Japanese newspaper.

07:48What has changed and what has remained the same in your impression of Japan after the match? Thank you.

07:58Nothing. I expected exactly what we got. A well-drilled team who have a lot of different variations in the

08:06deep build-up from 3-2 to 4-1 to 3-1, dropping to the sides, opening up spaces and

08:14playing from outside to inside, crossing lines.

08:17So, everything was there and it's very, very intense and it's very complex to play against it.

08:24So, I'm basically very happy that we, especially in the first half, did not concede at all.

08:30I think for me the second chance that they had was a clear offside and the first one was a

08:36goal and we should have defended it better because we were, I think, six against three in the counterattack.

08:41So, this is mainly on us, but we controlled the game. They had ball possession, but in areas where they

08:51didn't hurt us, we put the hard work in.

08:53No, there was no surprise. I know how good they are. I know the results that they recently got.

08:59So, it was clear before. We were very aware of the two difficult test matches that we organised for ourselves

09:09in a complicated window for our players and that's just what it is.

09:15And you can be disappointed, but we cannot be surprised that it does not look absolutely perfect.

09:21Okay, four more to go.

09:25Commiserations, Thomas Tuchel, for the defeat, but I was just interested to know, Morgan Rogers was the one who was

09:31making the runs in behind to stretch the defensive line, but how come Phil Foden wasn't doing that because Kai

09:40Havertz did that back in your Chelsea days and that resulted in perhaps your greatest achievement in winning the 2021

09:45Champions League?

09:46So, you just want to know the decision-making behind that.

09:50Well, we played with two No. 6 and two No. 10 positions because that's basically, that's what we think that

10:01gave us basically the chance to have players where Champagne has no players in two 6 positions and two 10

10:07positions and then have two players with Morgan and Anthony Gordon in the last line.

10:12Yeah. But like I said, we lacked the width. Our fullbacks did not engage enough in the offensive patterns to

10:22open up the middle, so we tried to play everything through the middle and the middle was close because we

10:28didn't provide the width and the attack, the threat on the side.

10:33We tried Morgan in the last line because it's basically the ideal position for Cole Palmer and we wanted to

10:40give Cole the chance to perform on his ideal position.

10:45Later, we tried then with Morgan more tucked in and Jared Bowen in the high position to make runs.

10:54It was a bit easier because it was a bit easier because we had more overlaps and underlaps from the

10:58fullback.

11:00That's basically the decision and the players tried. It's difficult because we tried to learn stuff in two days and

11:09I will take the responsibility for that, but the group was new so some of them heard the voice of

11:14me for the first time.

11:15Some of them heard the principles of the game for the first time. I take the responsibility for that, of

11:26course, for the plan and for the structure. There's no doubt about it. The players tried everything and like I

11:33said, I'm repeating myself from here. It's on us now to learn and to do better.

11:40Hi, Thomas. Obviously, you've got a lot to digest after the last week, but has this camp provided you with

11:45more clarity about the 26 or more questions about?

11:49No, more clarity. More clarity, clearly. James?

11:54Hi, Thomas. You mentioned the injuries you've had to deal with, obviously, across the whole camp. Can I just ask

11:59what the next two months are going to be like for you as you sort of watch on, kind of

12:04hoping players are going to be available for the summer?

12:06Yeah, it will be scary to watch TV on the weekend. From now on, every muscle injury can mean that

12:17a player misses out. It's one thing if players go, if players get injured, which is anyway not nice.

12:25But then, like I said, Jordan Henderson is a key figure for us in camp is out. Declan Rice is

12:32out. Bukayo is out. They're captains for their clubs and they drive the standards and then Harry Kane drops out.

12:38So, it's basically the leadership group who is not available. This affects, of course, the group and everyone gave everything.

12:48And from now on, of course, still now, all these injuries, I think, will be still manageable in the window

12:58of time that we have to be invested in club football in May and be ready for the World Cup.

13:04But from now on, the next eight weeks, I'm concerned, of course, and I hope that everything goes well for

13:14the players, that they stay healthy.

13:16Last one here.

13:17Hi, Thomas. Only goal tonight. Kaoru Mitoma created and finished as well. Kaoru Mitoma created tonight's goal and finished the

13:29goal as well. What kind of level is he reaching at the moment?

13:36What kind of level? Oh, he can play on a high level, I think. He proved this for his club

13:46and in the Premier League. He can play on the highest level.

13:49The goal itself, I think, yeah, it was a bit too easy after the ball loss. The ball loss can

13:56happen. It's not a problem in the moment of the ball loss.

13:58I think we have four players behind the ball. Then comes the acceleration. I think we lose some duels and

14:04then the recovery runs from us.

14:06I think we're not in 100% intensity because then we could have defended the goal. So we ended up

14:12in a six against three in our favour and still conceded,

14:18which is disappointing. But for the level of Mitoma, it's no doubt he's a top player.

14:24Thank you very much. Cheers.

14:25Good. Thank you, guys.

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