Thomas Tuchel says England are 'underdogs' for World Cup after 59 years of hurt

Thomas Tuchel says England will go to the World Cup next summer as underdogs. England will be among the bookies’ favourites to lift the trophy but Tuchel warned the odds are stacked against his team partly because they have not won a major trophy since 1966.

Three Lions boss Tuchel said: “We will arrive as underdogs at the World Cup because we haven’t won it for decades and we will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time.

“If you’ve never won Wimbledon you are maybe one of the favourites but you are not the favourite. There is Brazil, there is Argentina, Spain, France and they just did it recently.

“It doesn’t mean we have no chance. I think it helps us if we have our role clear once we arrive. Because of history, because of the climate, because of the circumstances. I don’t see why we should burden ourselves that we are the big favourites.

“If we don’t win it, it’s a disaster – why? When did we last win it? Let’s go step by step and maybe it just buys us another step.”

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Tuchel also backed former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard’s assessment that “egos” have split the camp in the past and was the reason England’s Golden Generation failed to live up to their hype. The England boss has already dropped Jude Bellingham from his squad to face Wales and Latvia as he wanted to stick with the players who won 5-0 in Serbia last month.

Tuchel says it is all about the team ethic rather than individuals and that will be the secret behind any team’s success at a major tournament. “We have to arrive as a team or we will have no chance,” said Tuchel.

“For this moment we stick with our choice and the radical statement is that we don’t collect the most talented players, we collect the guys who have the glue and cohesion to be the best team.

“I heard about it (the Steven Gerrard interview). I hear nothing else. When I hear people talking about their titles in international football or their missed chances I always hear the same song: we have been a team or we haven’t been a team.

“It is always the same song in international football. I also think it is the same headline in club football but even more if you stick together 24/7 for a nine day period, and then as long as possible in America, you have to be a group, you have to be a strong group.”

Tuchel also confirmed Harry Kane will miss the Wales game and has not been able to train all week but says he will be back to face Latvia next Tuesday. Tuchel said John Stones, Jordan Henderson or Declan Rice will captain the team.

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