Tuchel urges ‘afraid’ England to play without fear

Thomas Tuchel has urged England to play without fear after claiming they were “afraid” in a scathing assessment of their run to the Euro 2024 final under his predecessor Gareth Southgate. Tuchel will take charge of England for the first time when they face Albania at Wembley on Friday in their opening World Cup qualifier. […]

Thomas Tuchel has urged England to play without fear after claiming they were “afraid” in a scathing assessment of their run to the Euro 2024 final under his predecessor Gareth Southgate.

Tuchel will take charge of England for the first time when they face Albania at Wembley on Friday in their opening World Cup qualifier.

The German, who started work in January after being hired in October, is keen to instill a more dynamic attitude in his squad after watching their angst-ridden performances in last year’s European Championship.

“They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament in my observation than having the excitement and hunger to win it,” Tuchel told ITV this week.