Thomas Tuchel believes England have the players and talent to go far at the 2026 World Cup.
The German will officially take charge of the Three Lions from January 1, but was present at the qualifying draw that took place at UEFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday.
Tuchel is tasked with reaching the World Cup for the eighth consecutive edition, with England reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals in the previous two editions under Gareth Southgate.
Asked if he felt he had the players available to win the league should they qualify, Tuchel told Sky Sports: “I knew this before and when I watched the matches we have the players, the talent and qualities to go far. But now, first of all we have to prove it in the qualifiers.
“It's getting closer, the gap between the big countries and the smaller countries. It closes every tournament.
“It's harder to win your matches, so we have to show full respect and show our top level from March when it starts.”
One of those players is striker Harry Kane, who came under criticism after the 2024 European Championship in which he scored just three goals, earning him a share of the Golden Boot, amid disappointing performances on the way to the final.
Group K is complete
Thomas Tuchel's #ThreeLions have discovered their @FIFAWorldCup qualifying opponents! pic.twitter.com/a9rqHH3ZO7
— England (@England) December 13, 2024
Kane was a regular for Tuchel after joining Bayern Munich last August, scoring 44 goals in all competitions under the 51-year-old, who says the forward will remain captain.
“There is no need to look at other options at this time. That applies to Harry, and everyone else too,” he said.
“I admire him for his quality, for his leadership and for his character. The players ultimately decide whether they play or not. It's always like that.”
“I am happy with this group of players, including Harry, great personalities and quality. The task now is to find and build the best group so that people watch us with enthusiasm, so that they feel inspired by watching this team .”
England will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Group K in a bid to reach the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and have never lost to any of these four sides.
“I have enormous respect for Serbia and Albania. They can always surprise,” Tuchel added.
“They have a strong history of football, of technical football, of an emotional crowd, emotional players and emotional groups. They have famous ex-players as coaches, so we have to be very aware of that.
“England have never played Latvia before, so this is a new experience for all of us. And then we have Andorra, where we are big favorites, but we have to qualify. This is the most important thing.”
“This is where all the focus is. There can be no other approach than taking it seriously, taking it with respect and letting it happen before we can dream the dream.”
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