EXCLUSIVE Thomas Tuchel is warned: Embrace the chaos or England will be out of the World Cup early
Thomas Tuchel has been warned that he can factor in all the marginal gains he likes, but if his England players fail to 'embrace the chaos' of next summer's World Cup then they will go home early.
English coach John Herdman has spent 15 years living and working in Canada and competing in competitions across North America.
He was manager of Canada's national team for five of those years, including the 2022 World Cup, and he knows first-hand what awaits his compatriots this time next year.
Tuchel and his staff are going to great lengths to prepare the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham for the heat and humidity of cities such as Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. They worked inside climate-control tents in Spain last week and swallowed biometric tablets to learn more about body temperature in extreme conditions.
Herdman says England are right to prepare for the physical severities that await - but he has another piece of advice for Tuchel that cannot be measured in Celsius or Fahrenheit.
'What I have learnt over here is that you have to develop an anti-fragile mindset,' the 49-year-old tells Mail Sport from his Toronto home.
'Yes, the teams that will be successful will prepare, they'll find the marginal gains. You have to create as many placebos as possible. But more than anything, you have to embrace the chaos that will enter your world.
'You're crossing time zones, climates, altitudes and cultures every few days. You'll go from dry heat to extreme humidity. It's not possible to adapt to those climates in such a short space of time. You have to concentrate as much on the mental side of things, make the players believe you are doing something to get a one per cent gain. But after all of that, you still have to say, "S*** is going to happen".
'During the Gold Cup in 2019, we started in Los Angeles and played at 4.30pm in 34C. Two days later we flew to Colorado to play at altitude. We were training the day before the game and the sirens went off for a tornado warning. We then shifted two time zones to play in Charlotte at 90 per cent humidity.
'The day before the game, there was a storm and a power outage. Our hotel lost power and then there was a flood. At 2am, we had to move hotels. We then flew to Houston to play indoor at an NFL stadium. But it's not configured for football. The locker room is cavernous. You've got your strikers at one end of the room and midfielders at the other.
'So no matter what you do, it won't be enough. That would be my biggest advice - move from marginal gains to anti-fragility. "OK, we're going to get stuck on the Tarmac for five hours because of a weather pattern". That is difference between being resilient and anti-fragile. Resilient is taking these knocks and getting back up. Anti-fragility is, "Bring it on! We want this!". Because there is a danger you over-organise and try to manage every detail but don't deal with the chaos, which will be inevitable here.'
Herdman also knows that some players will look for an out if external factors conspire against them. At the Gold Cup, his Canada team lost 3-2 in the quarter-finals against Haiti despite leading 2-0 at half-time.
'Players will look for excuses,' says the County Durham coach, most recently in charge of Toronto FC in MLS. 'They will look for the out. Storms, tornados, delayed flights, that could be the eject button some of them are looking for.
'Having lived it in 2019, we created this brotherhood and just laughed in the face of whatever was thrown at us. But then, in a tough quarter-final, we capitulated in 45 minutes. That was all it took.
'We then went to the World Cup in Qatar and that was perfection, this tournament bubble - 30 minutes from your training ground and stadium. Imagine those players whose first World Cup experience was that - this is the polar opposite!
'They will be suffering training, not just matches. It takes its toll. It feels oppressive. On top of that you've got constant changes to your sleeping pattern, meal times. The most adaptable team will be the most successful, and that includes playing styles and strategies, depending on how lucky you are with your path.
'If you get an air-conditioned stadium then you can play whatever style you like. But if you're on a path of heat, it will be a low intensity game and you have to adapt. You'll have to break low blocks. You can have an idea of how you would like to play, but then you find you just can't. That is why for all the preparation, the biggest difference maker is whether you and your players embrace the madness of it all.'
Thomas, be warned, there will be more than the temperatures leaving you hot under the collar in North America.
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