England manager Thomas Tuchel described his side as underdogs for next year’s World Cup and insisted the team should not burden itself with the weight of being labeled favorites as it looks to end a 59-year wait for a major trophy.
England reached a World Cup semi-final and two European Championship finals under former manager Gareth Southgate, but have not won the World Cup or any other major trophy since 1966.
«We will come into the World Cup as underdogs because we haven’t won it for decades, and we will be playing against teams who have won it repeatedly in that time,» Tuchel told reporters ahead of Thursday’s friendly against Wales.
“If you’ve never won Wimbledon, you may be one of the favorites, but you’re not the favorite… There’s Brazil, there’s Argentina, Spain, France and they’ve done that recently.
«That does not mean that we have no chance. First we will qualify and then we know exactly why we are going there. We want to go all the way, but the role must be clear.»
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«I don’t see why we should burden ourselves with the fact that we are the big favorites. When was the last time we won that? … We are building a team that is ready to move on step by step and hopefully no one wants to play against us.»
Tuchel retained the squad from last month’s Group K qualifying wins over Andorra and Serbia for the friendly against Wales and a World Cup qualifier against Latvia, leaving out Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
“We are not collecting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team,” said the German, who replaced Southgate in January.
«Teams win trophies, no one else does. We will try to bring together the best players and the best squad with the best players, but in the end you may not just gather the most talented players and hope it works.»
A win in Latvia on October 14 combined with a draw in the match between Serbia and Albania would ensure that England qualified for the World Cup as group winners.
Published on October 9, 2025
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