Thomas Tuchel wants ‘relentless' England performance against minnows Andorra
Tuchel's first away game as England boss is being played in Barcelona rather than Andorra, who have lost all six previous meetings and are available at 120/1 with one bookmaker to win at the RCDE Stadium.
The 51-year-old knows it is a matter of how many his side win by on Saturday, when he wants the team to show patience and persistence.
'It will be on us to get going,' Tuchel said. 'I think it is on us to keep the tempo high, it is on us to bring the energy to the pitch.
'It is on us to bring the attacking energy to the pitch and to do this in a relentless way.
'I can fully understand that this is not the easiest time of the season for an international break. The players come from a short break of holiday, from a long and tiring season and then accepting again the role.
'It can be demanding but what I feel from the group is they are to be here.
Ollie Watkins has withdrawn from the #ThreeLions camp as a precaution due to a minor injury.
— England (@England) June 6, 2025
'We are quite new together, it's our second camp and I have trust and belief that we will do what is necessary to get the result that we want.
'We want a win. We want a clear and solid win that is never in danger. This is what we expect from us tomorrow.
'It is important not to over expect from us in terms of already a clear result, biggest chances, goals already after 10-20 minutes, and get impatient and get frustrated with ourselves.
'I think it's a test to our patience. Andorra played against Spain and it was 1-0 at half-time with a set-piece.
'It's a World Cup qualifier. Respect your opponent, you respect the quality, the defensive organisation of your opponent and you understand how difficult it is to break down.'
England will be cheered on by 6,800 travelling fans in Catalonia, where the team have spent the week to help aid team bonding and preparations for next summer's warm weather World Cup.
Harry Kane (left) is among nine England players heading to this summer's Club World Cup after Tuesday's friendly against Senegal (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Cycling in sauna-like conditions and testing on their core body temperature have formed part of the camp, while the temperature is forecast to be 26 degrees Celsius come kick-off on Saturday.
'We just tried to figure out how the players individually react to heat because it will be a very hot and humid World Cup,' Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live.
'We did this so that we can provide individual cooling systems and individual electrolyte drinks and so on.'
Ollie Watkins was with the camp but withdrew with a minor injury on the eve of a game Tuchel confirmed Harry Kane would skipper the side.
The Bayern Munich striker is among nine England players heading to this summer's Club World Cup after Tuesday's friendly against Senegal.
'You get just lost if you think now about the Senegal game and then you think about the Club World Cup,' Tuchel said. 'Then you just lose focus.
'We take it step by step. We will have a serious line-up tomorrow and we think the line-up is exactly the line-up that gives us the biggest chance to put the game in our way.
'After the match, we take decisions for the Senegal match and we can maybe then think a little bit more about individual players who go after that to the Club World Cup – but tomorrow, it's a full focus on the World Cup qualifier.'
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Scottish Sun
35 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
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Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Thomas Tuchel is right to ignore tedious talk of burn-out by calling up Chelsea stars for latest England squad, writes DANNY MURPHY
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Thomas Tuchel responds to England fans labelling Keir Starmer a '****' after supporters sang abusive chants about the Prime Minister during the Three Lions' lacklustre 1-0 win over Andorra
Thomas Tuchel has responded after England supporters loudly labelled Prime Minister Keir Starmer a 'c***' during the 1-0 win over Andorra on Saturday. Around 7,000 Three Lions supporters made the trip to Barcelona to watch the dire World Cup qualifying victory, settled by Harry Kane 's 50th-minute goal. Some foul-mouthed individuals made their feelings toward Starmer clear during an uneventful first half and their songs were audible during ITV 's live coverage. Singing to the tune of KC & The Sunshine Band's hit Give It Up, they sang: 'Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na-na-na now, Starmer is a c***, is a c***, Starmer is a c***.' Supporters at RCDE Stadium also chanted: 'Keir Starmer is a w****r, is a w****r.' The drab match was played out in front of a largely empty backdrop after the fixture was moved from Andorra to a ground over 100 miles away. Tuchel's side were jeered off at half-time and at the final whistle after delivering an underwhelming performance against opponents ranked 173rd in the world. At the time of the numerous abusive chants directed at Starmer, the Three Lions had been struggling to find a breakthrough against the minnows. But after the game, Tuchel said he did not hear any of the songs in question. 'If it happened, it's not acceptable,' he told reporters during his press conference. 'But I didn't hear any offensive songs or chants.' Saturday seemingly marked the first time England supporters have openly taken aim at Starmer, who has attended a number of Three Lions games in the past. Tuchel, meanwhile, laid into his team for 'playing with fire' against Andorra, warning them they were fortunate not to get burned by one of Europe's worst sides. 'I think in the end, we played with fire, honestly,' Tuchel said. 'I felt it almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger. 'I didn't feel a team that was aware it was only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Step by step the energy dropped when we needed exactly the opposite. 'But we couldn't deliver and so we got away with a win. I think we still deserved the win and we've got three wins and three clean sheets. 'We will not stop encouraging them and make clear after we have a proper look at the match what we want from them.' Tuchel also ripped into England's casualness, adding: 'I liked the attitude how we started, the first 25 minutes, but I didn't like the last 25. I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier. 'I didn't like the attitude in the end. I didn't like the body language.'
