Current England manager Thomas Tuchel delivered a blunt critique of the nation’s performance at Euro 2024, which was overseen by former boss Gareth Southgate.
The Three Lions made it to the final of the European Championship for the second consecutive tournament, but their 2-1 loss to Spain in Berlin last summer came after a series of underwhelming performances. Despite reaching the final, England’s play throughout the competition was far less impressive than their results might suggest.
England struggled in the group stage, narrowly defeating Serbia in their opening match before drawing with Denmark and Slovenia. They were saved by a stoppage-time overhead kick from Jude Bellingham to avoid a last-16 exit to Slovakia, scraped past Switzerland on penalties, and needed a 90th-minute winner from Ollie Watkins to defeat the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
After the tournament, Southgate stepped down, with some fans expressing their frustration by throwing empty beer cups at him. Tuchel, ahead of his debut match in charge against Albania on Friday, shared his thoughts on the performance.
When asked by ITV Sport if England had a clear playing style during the Euros, Tuchel bluntly responded, “Not last summer, no.” He went on to say that the team lacked “identity, clarity, rhythm, repetition of patterns, freedom of players, expression of players, and hunger.”
“They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament, in my observation, than excited or hungry to win it,” Tuchel continued. “The feeling was missing that people thought, ‘This is the team to beat.’ There was no sense that, after qualifying, everyone knew this was the team to beat.”
Tuchel emphasized that he wants his team to play with hunger and joy, rather than fear of losing. “We want to implement togetherness and joy in winning, rather than the fear of losing,” he said.
In his pre-match press conference, Tuchel reiterated these concerns, stating: “Watching the Euros, I felt tension and pressure on the players, and they were playing not to lose. I want us to play with excitement, hunger, and the desire to win… and the acceptance of failure is part of it, especially in football.”
Tuchel concluded with a call for change: “I think we need to turn this around. We have so many experienced players, many of whom have won trophies with their clubs, and we have every right to be self-confident.”
