Thomas Tuchel insists England are not among the favourites for the World Cup – but insists his side will “dream big” in their pursuit of ending their major tournament drought.
The Three Lions have not won a men’s major tournament since 1966, which Tuchel believes is the reason why they cannot be considered among the favourites to lift the trophy.
According to the bookies, England are third favourites for the World Cup behind Spain and France – both of whom have won a major tournament in the last decade – but the Three Lions manager still sees his team as outsiders.
He told the media ahead of England’s final World Cup warm-up game vs Costa Rica: “No, we’re not the top favorites, we can’t be because we haven’t won it for so, so many years.
“There are like proven winners in the tournament wit more success in recent tournaments. So, these are the favourites, and we compete for the trophy. We dream big, and we know what it takes.
“If you dream big comes with responsibility, responsibility is on the effort. So this is where the focus is, and we want to compete.
“We see ourselves as competitors, as challengers, and we want to go all the way, but I don’t think that we are the heavy favourites.”
Tuchel insists England can win World Cup
Despite that, Tuchel has made no secret of the fact that delivering a second star on England’s shirt is the aim, but says it won’t come without putting the hard yards in.
He added: “But you can win it, of course, and we want to win it, but if we know what it takes, and it takes also a calm mindset, and focus on our steps.
“If we want to reach the top of the mountain, we need to start the journey step by step.
“We need to go base camp by base camp, otherwise we will just get distracted. So I have belief, we all have belief, we all have a dream. But it comes with responsibility and hard work and commitment and discipline.
“Sometimes comes with disappointment and setbacks. This is all included, but we are trying to, we dare to dream, and it’s important.”
England vs Costa Rica: Starters will get 60-70 minutes
England face Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday evening and Tuchel says starters are likely to play at least an hour to 70 minutes, having fielded two different XIs in a laboured 1-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday.
Tuchel added: “No-one needs a break. Everyone is available which is very good news. No [injury] complaints after the first match.
“[We’ve had] one day of recovery and two good training sessions. We are ready to give it a push tomorrow; meaning more than 45 minutes. Players will play 60, maybe 70 minutes. We will make this decision in the afternoon.
“Then, we have a chance to load the players a day later in a match behind closed doors in our training facility, then pre-camp is finished. We then start our adventure two days later in Kansas.
“Tomorrow, we expect a physcial push tomorrow. Physically, [with] intensity and style and play. We want to take the next step and we feel ready for it.”
