Thomas Tuchel has told his England players to stop looking back and focus solely on Norway, as the Three Lions prepare for a World Cup quarter-final that offers a shot at redemption – and a place in history. The German manager, hired after Gareth Southgate’s near-misses, carries the burden of ending 60 years without a major trophy. “It’s the motherland of football, it’s Wembley, it’s the cathedral of world football, so this is why it should be ‘coming home’,” he said, quoting the famous English refrain. “But we have some steps in between. We cannot get carried away, not to look too much further up front, and also we have to stop looking back now. That is what we agree with the team, we draw a line in the sand. It’s no more Mexico. It’s only about Norway.”
Norway, ranked 19th in the world – 15 places below England – arrive in Miami having knocked out Brazil in the last round. Erling Haaland and his team have defied expectations, and Tuchel is wary. “They over perform. But I think internally they know very well how good they are, they know very well how many problems they can cause to any team in the world,” he said. “They proved it. They eliminated a big, big, big nation on a big stage and I think from then on there is no such thing any more as favourites.”
“Thomas Tuchel insists England must focus only on Norway in the World Cup quarter-final, drawing a line under past disappointments.”
The match at Miami Stadium marks England’s third consecutive World Cup quarter-final, a run of consistency under Southgate that Tuchel now looks to extend. Victory would put England 90 minutes from only a second final in their history. “Football and the World Cup in itself is there to make a country, and make our fans dream and believe and excite them,” Tuchel said. “This is what it’s for. And we’re on the best way to do that. And we want to take the next step.”
England are without a major trophy since 1966, and Tuchel, a German, was brought in to change that. His message is clear: the past – Mexico, the near-misses – is irrelevant now. Only Norway stands between England and a semi-final. And after Norway’s shock win over Brazil, Tuchel knows that no opponent can be taken lightly.