England manager Thomas Tuchel says records aren’t his focus ahead of final World Cup qualifier against Albania, despite perfect campaign
ENGLAND MANAGER THOMAS TUCHEL has dismissed talk of records ahead of his team’s final World Cup qualifier against Albania on Sunday.
The German coach, who began his reign with a 2-0 win against Albania at Wembley in March, completes his first year in charge against the same opponents.
England have already qualified for next year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States after winning all seven Group K games without conceding a goal.
Opposition manager Sylvinho jokingly described England’s defensive record as “disgusting” ahead of the match.
The Three Lions could become the first European side to play at least six World Cup qualifiers and win them all without conceding.
“We didn’t speak a single word about that,” Tuchel told reporters on Saturday when asked about the potential record.
The manager praised his squad’s mentality after their final training session before the match.
“The quality and the mentality of the guys that didn’t play was on the highest level, which was a pure pleasure,” he said.
“It just showed me that we are going in the right way.”
Tuchel confirmed his entire 23-man squad is available for selection after Ezri Konsa withdrew with a calf complaint.
Captain Harry Kane expressed confidence that all players are buying into Tuchel’s philosophy of creating a “brotherhood” within the squad.
“I think everyone feels ready to be part of it, they want to come and show what they can do in training and games,” Kane said.
The England skipper highlighted the importance of squad togetherness despite limited preparation time before next summer’s tournament.
“We probably have a handful of training sessions from now until then,” Kane noted.
He praised Marc Guehi for joining the camp despite injury to maintain squad integration.
“I think it is really important, because we haven’t got a lot of time to get all the messages across from now until the summer,” Kane added. – AFP
