Thomas Tuchel has ruled out changing England’s playing style in the heat of the World Cup, citing the risk of losing what makes the team unique.
Since taking over as head coach in January 2025, Tuchel has made it clear that he likes the toughness of English domestic football and believes the national team should capitalize on it.
The 52-year-old’s team selections have mirrored his ideas, with an emphasis on strength and powerful running in his 26-man tournament roster.
“They want to be active with the ball,” the German told BBC Sport about his England side before their World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday (21:00 BST).
“We have a young group. We have a courageous group. We have a brave group of players.
“So let’s go for it. I mean, no one guarantees you that we win. So we want to at least try it, our style and our belief.”
The temperatures in the United States, Mexico, and Canada are exceptionally high; therefore, obligatory water breaks have been implemented in all matches, effectively dividing them into quarters.
Tuchel stated at a news conference prior to the Croatia match that hydration breaks can “change the character of each half.”
He stated that the three-minute intervals allow coaches to “change and reset” throughout games while providing “group messages.”
Temperatures in Dallas will be above 30 degrees Celsius by the time England kicks off their first Group L game, but the impacts of the heat will be mitigated because the Dallas Stadium is one of the World Cup’s air-conditioned indoor venues.
Starting the tournament at that stadium has given Tuchel confidence that his team can impose their style on Croatia “because we play indoors.”
However, the England manager acknowledged the impact of the heat on his players at their Kansas City training base.
“Yesterday, it was very hot even here in training,” Tuchel said.
“And we could feel that it has more impact than, for example, today. So let’s see.
“I’m just not ready to adapt to a different style of football because of circumstances that we cannot influence. I think we would just give up our strengths.”
Tuchel traveled to the United States for last year’s Club World Cup, which he used to prepare England’s World Cup preparations with the help of the Football Association.
“Research about the Club World Cup showed us that the style is pretty much the same, but maybe the repetition is less often,” he said.
“So maybe a player who has maybe 10 to 15% fewer sprints, less distance. It [the conditions] influenced the volume and the intensity but not so much the style of play.
“In the end we need to have an answer anyway to every scenario.
“So, will we be a lot in possession, or will we attack a lot in the last third of the opponent?” Will they push us back, and do we need to defend deep? We need to have answers to everything.”
Tuchel also detailed why he chose to call up Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah over the injured Tino Livramento, who had to withdraw from the squad due to a calf issue.
Tino was, of course, very disappointed and very sad. All of us were,” Tuchel said.
“It was kind of a shock in training, and when he stopped training, he had the feeling that this could be an injury that costs him the tournament, and he was unfortunately right.
“We called Trevoh Chalobah because we then free up Jarell Quansah as a full-back on both sides, and Djed Spence can be a full-back on both sides.
“Trevoh comes as a center-back alternative and gives us full coverage in the back four.”
