England manager Thomas Tuchel has played down suggestions that Tuesday’s Nations League clash with the Czech Republic is already a must-win fixture, despite his side beginning their Group A3 campaign with a 3-2 defeat to Spain.
The reigning world champions overturned a 2-1 deficit at Wembley on Saturday to leave England without points from their opening match. However, Tuchel believes there is still plenty of time left in the group and has resisted placing additional pressure on his players ahead of the trip to Prague.
“It’s a bit early in the group for a must-win,” Tuchel told reporters on Monday.
The German coach nevertheless made it clear that victory remains England’s objective, particularly after the disappointment against Spain.
“In general we always arrive at every match and prepare the team with a target to win. It was the target against Spain and it’s the target tomorrow,” he said.
Tuchel also stressed the importance of responding quickly to a defeat, arguing that positive results can help restore confidence and belief within a team.
England face a Czech side that is also seeking to establish itself under new management. The hosts appointed Spaniard Santi Denia as their first foreign coach during the summer after a disappointing World Cup campaign in which they finished bottom of their group.
Denia’s first competitive match ended in defeat, with Croatia beating the Czechs 2-1 in Prague on Saturday. The result nevertheless came after what was described as an improved performance from the hosts.
Tuchel expects England to face a difficult challenge in the Czech capital, particularly given the hosts’ recent record against the Three Lions.
“We respect the opposition, we respect the quality, we respect the challenge that it brings if you play in Prague against Czechia,” he said.
England could also make changes to their line-up because of fitness concerns. Tuchel revealed that Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly, who both started against Spain, are carrying minor problems that could prevent them from featuring.
“Ideally I would love to put the same team out there, but I need to speak with doctors, physios and the players themselves,” he said.
Tuchel added that protecting the players’ health would take priority over maintaining a settled team.
England’s record in the Nations League provides another layer of context. The Three Lions have reached the semi-finals only once in the competition’s three editions and were relegated to the second tier during the 2022/23 campaign.
The Czech Republic will also draw confidence from having avoided defeat in their last four home matches against England. Their most recent victory over the Three Lions came in a 2-1 Euro 2020 qualifying win in Prague in 2019.
Denia, however, acknowledged the scale of the task facing his developing team, describing England as one of the world’s best sides.
“We are focused on our development to improve our performance and to improve our details with our team,” the Czech coach said.
For England, Tuesday’s match offers an opportunity to respond to the Spain defeat and begin rebuilding momentum in Group A3.
