ENGLAND VS CZECH REPUBLIC: TUCHEL SAYS GAME IS ‘NOT YET A MUST-WIN’

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Agency Report

England coach Thomas Tuchel has said Tuesday’s Nations League clash against the Czech Republic in Prague is “not yet a must-win” despite England’s 3-2 defeat to Spain last weekend.

Reigning world champions Spain came from behind to defeat England in an entertaining Group A3 opener at Wembley on Saturday, denting the Three Lions’ hopes of reaching their second Nations League semi-final.

“It’s a bit early in the group for a must-win,” Tuchel told reporters in Prague.

However, the German coach said England would approach the encounter with the intention of securing victory.

“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.

“You always need a result in football to get confidence and to get the support and to get the belief you always need, especially after a defeat.”

Tuchel expects a difficult test against the Czech Republic, who appointed their first-ever foreign coach, Santi Denia of Spain, during the summer after failing to progress from their World Cup group.

The Czech Republic also suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Croatia in their opening Group A3 fixture on Saturday, despite showing signs of improvement under Denia.

“We respect the opposition, we respect the quality, we respect the challenge that it brings if you play in Prague against Czechia,” Tuchel said.

The former Chelsea manager also revealed that Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly, who both started against Spain, are doubts for Tuesday’s game after suffering minor injuries.

“Ideally I would love to put the same team out there, but I need to speak with doctors, physios and the players themselves,” Tuchel said.

“My mindset before the camp was to not rotate too much. But we will always be very considerate with the health of the players.”

England have reached the Nations League semi-final only once in three editions and were relegated to the second tier during the 2022/23 campaign.

The Czech Republic have also avoided defeat in their last four home matches against England, including a 2-1 victory in a Euro 2020 qualifier in Prague in 2019.

However, Denia faces a major challenge as he continues to build the Czech side. The coach, who previously guided Spain to Olympic gold in 2024, described England as “one of the best teams in the world.”

“We are focused on our development to improve our performance and to improve our details with our team,” Denia said.

AFP