England manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed his disappointment after the recent international break, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Three Lions were defeated 1-0 by Japan at Wembley. The loss came after their 1-1 draw with Uruguay, in a game that saw Federico Valverde’s 94th-minute penalty tie the game.
Tuchel said: “We are of course disappointed, but we knew that we played two tough opponents, who will arrive [here] with their best line-up.”
Those two matches came after a flawless World Cup qualification campaign. England won all eight of their qualifying matches without conceding a goal.
They were the only nation to record that statistic. Also, only three countries netted more goals across their World Cup qualifiers.
The boss reflects on March camp 💬 pic.twitter.com/6YLcb7Qvj7
— England (@England) April 1, 2026
Opportunity for new faces
Tuchel’s squad saw a lot of rotation. The German gave debuts to Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes and Everton midfielder James Garner. Meanwhile, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were among those who didn’t feature in either match.
He added: “We built something in September, October, November, where we didn’t have much of an open door for new players, we changed this completely in March.
“We wanted to change it, we wanted to see new faces and how quick they can adapt to ideas and our principles.
Focus turns to World Cup preparation
England will take on New Zealand and Costa Rica in early June, before they jet off Stateside to play in the World Cup. By then, Tuchel’s squad will have been announced.
On his squad selection, Tuchel said: “There’s a lot of work to do, there’s a lot of thinking to do, I will watch the players, try to stay in touch.
“I will be at [St George’s Park] planning to arrive [at the World Cup] well prepared.”
England will play their first match of the tournament in Arlington, Texas, on June 17, where they face Croatia. Kick-off is at 15:00 local time (21:00 BST).
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