"Hungry and ready for more!" — Thomas Tuchel previews England's World Cup semi with Argentina

[0:00] This is one of the biggest games in world football. [0:03] There have been some great games and some very controversial incidents. [0:08] How aware are you and the players of the historic rivalry and how much of an edge does it add to the game? [0:17] It's a big rivalry and it's two big football nations. [0:21] Everyone who loves football, everyone who follows the World Cup as a football fan [0:26] knows about this constellation and knows about what it brings. [0:31] It's two big football nations. We expect tomorrow an intense match. [0:35] We expect an emotional match. [0:37] I expect a match with a lot of momentum swings and everything else would surprise me. [0:45] Hi Thomas. [0:46] Just a question in a similar vein. [0:48] How do you balance the... [0:50] Obviously your players have got a fantastic opportunity to reach a World Cup final with professional pride. [0:59] But there are also those factors that they might be able to tap into with regards to some extra motivation for the game. [1:07] I think no. We don't use it as a fuel. [1:11] We know why we're here. We know what we want. [1:15] We were never shy of expecting that from us, of saying it, of dreaming it. [1:25] We are in the semi-finals. We arrive very hungry in the semi-finals. [1:30] We want to have the next win. [1:32] We respect our opponent, but we don't dip in in historic events and we don't make it bigger than it is. [1:41] It's a big football match. It's like you said, a big occasion. [1:44] We are very excited, grateful, but very hungry and ready to go. [1:50] Left hand side here. [1:51] Hi Thomas. [1:52] Simon Peach from the Press Association. [1:54] Good luck tomorrow. [1:55] Just wondering if you could clear up the team news. [1:57] How's Declan Rice? [1:58] Is he fit to start? [1:59] Is everybody else fit to start with? [2:01] Everyone. [2:02] Everyone is fit to start. [2:03] Everyone was in training except for Jurel who is suspended and Jordan Henderson. [2:07] Declan completely back to normal now. [2:09] He's ready to start and as good recovered as possible. [2:17] Good evening, Thomas. [2:19] Rodrigo Oliveira, Radio Gaúcha, Brazil. [2:21] After the last match, you said that England has not peaked yet in this World Cup. [2:28] Which aspects of England's performance have not satisfied you so far? [2:35] And what improvements would you most like to see tomorrow? [2:38] I think we had too much technical errors in our last match. [2:46] Too much technical errors that hold us back from finding a rhythm in attack. [2:52] We were again a bit rushed in our decision making. [2:56] We were not patient enough. [2:57] We were not disciplined enough in our positions that cost us the rhythm of attacking. [3:02] We improved through the tournament a lot in defending and defending as a team. [3:09] So, this is something that we need to, of course, have tomorrow as well on the highest level. [3:18] But our rhythm, our build-up play and the acceleration of our attacking game, [3:26] combined with the technical execution, has to be on a higher level. [3:31] And, yeah, like I said, we haven't peaked in this kind of momentum yet. [3:35] But I think a match, a stage like tomorrow, an opponent like tomorrow, [3:39] a set-up like tomorrow will bring the best out of us, the best out of my players. [3:44] And we're excited for it. [3:47] The last women's Euro, Spain versus England, [3:56] the last women's World Cup, Spain versus England as well. [4:00] And again, yes. [4:02] Good, continue. [4:04] You see where I'm going with this. [4:07] Even though England obviously have to scale, [4:10] what does that say about the level of the two countries in international football so far? [4:17] Honestly, I don't know. [4:19] I just can tell you. [4:20] I just saw the first half of Spain and it was, again, so impressive. [4:24] The bigger the stage, the bigger the tension, the calmer they play. [4:28] And with more self-confidence they play. [4:32] It's just very, very impressive. [4:34] And congratulations to that achievement already. [4:38] For us, I said when I took the job that I think that we are very, very close. [4:45] We reach quarter-finals, semi-finals in consecutive tournaments. [4:50] We reach finals in the Euros in consecutive tournaments. [4:55] So, that just tells you that you are there. [4:58] If you reach consecutive quarter-semi-finals, then you're just there. [5:02] We want to squeeze the last bit out. [5:05] We want to take the next step. [5:07] I like the switch of energy. [5:09] I like the switch of energy again in our camp. [5:13] I feel the players are very excited. [5:16] I feel them very ambitious for this semi-final. [5:22] No one is satisfied and it's exactly the right mixture to have the performance that we need for tomorrow. [5:30] Can we just take a short break and ask the photographers to put the cameras down and the ones in the Ailes to either leave the room or if you can find a seat to at least sit down. [5:41] Please. [5:43] Thank you. [5:44] Spanish. [5:53] Spanish. [5:54] Spaniel, please. [5:55] Spanish. [5:58] How are you? [6:00] Good evening, Jose Quino. [6:01] Jose Quino for the Red 1 of Bolivia. [6:02] Wait a second. [6:03] No, that doesn't work. [6:04] Jose Quino, for the Red 1 of Bolivia, great evening. [6:05] I'm going to ask you about the evaluation of the Argentina and, like to be in the moment, what [6:19] Well, it's just incredible his campaign, his tournament, how he carries that team, it's [6:33] just absolutely incredible, there are no words, and for sure not from me, who am I to talk [6:38] about that, that is just no words left for this kind of achievement, the responsibility [6:45] and the quality that he shows again in this tournament, he's just the leader and the key, [6:54] the key player in any team that he plays and for sure in this Argentinian side, you can see the [7:02] cohesion, you can see that they are experienced in tournament football, they kept the same group [7:10] of players, the core group of players, they have a very experienced, very good coach, they're together [7:17] for a long time, so you see that, they love to play in the middle of the pitch, they love to have the [7:22] short passes, they're always looking for the gaps, they're playing through gaps and once Leo Messi [7:28] has the ball, the movement starts and just the technical execution of the delivery and of the [7:35] supply of Messi is just on the absolutely highest level, so there's a lot to take care of, but we are [7:45] here to play our way, the semi-final, we are here to to impose our style, to impose our strengths, [7:52] we are here to play the semi-final our way and to push the luck our way, we know how big the [7:59] obstacle is, we know how big the ask is, but we're ready for it. [8:04] Here, Victorio Grigera from Deporter, Ian Wright said Argentina is weak, Murat Yaquil also said [8:14] Argentina is vulnerable, what are your thoughts on Argentina's game throughout the tournament? [8:22] I see them better than the both of them, but everyone is entitled to their opinion, [8:27] I see, like I said, first of all, they have the mentality, they have the togetherness, they don't [8:35] panic when they're behind, they're a very, very competitive group, they're like high quality players, [8:41] very experienced players in every position, they love to play through the middle, they can defend hard, [8:47] so for me it's the full package, I think it's just my first tournament, but of course my first World Cup, [8:57] but not my first tournament as a coach, it's very rare that you fly through a tournament and [9:03] it's just like everything falls into place from match to match to match, it's normal that you have [9:09] to work hard and overcome difficulties, I think it says more about their strengths than about their [9:14] weakness, that they overcame them, we prepare for the best version of Argentina, we expect and hope [9:26] and demand the best of ourselves tomorrow for top football match, I think every team in the world [9:33] is beatable, so is Argentina, so is us and both teams will try tomorrow. [9:38] Hello, it's Juan Castro from Newspaper Marca here in Spain, sorry I take out a little bit from [9:45] tomorrow's game, just you said that Spain was impressive, I ask you about Luis de la Fuente, [9:54] the coach, if you have relation with him or was your consideration on him, thank you very much. [9:59] Look at his record, I mean this is unbelievable, it seems like they cannot lose any knockout matches [10:07] and in tournaments with him, so what he does to this group is outstanding, they play with a clear [10:17] trademark as I didn't see a lot of them because either we are in training or in buses or in planes, [10:24] so I didn't see a lot of them today, I saw one half, I can just talk about that, that was very [10:29] impressive and like I said, congratulations, full credit to them and of course the coach and his stuff, [10:38] brilliant achievement and hopefully we can follow but we have a big challenge to overcome tomorrow. [10:46] Thomas, hi, Engin Keale from TRT Sports Turkey, before the tournament you talked about special ops [10:54] like in NFL and Gordon came in, he had to assist, you had Dan Burn, you had Morgan Rodgers, Spence, [11:01] the last game, can you guide us through that process a little bit, is it premeditated or do you [11:08] think during the game, do you talk with anyone, you said you expect a lot of momentum changes [11:13] tomorrow as well? Yeah, we trust our intuition to be honest and our intuition and our experience on [11:20] the sideline and I think we need to just also be free and ready to react how the game goes, [11:27] we're just predicting and no one knows, so you go with the flow, this is what it is. I'm not sure if I [11:35] talked special ops, this is not my language but we talked about roles of course, so our players know the [11:41] role, why they are here, why they are selected and then they know it, they make the most of it, [11:49] they fight for their place in the starting eleven, if not everyone contributes on a very, very high [11:55] level. It has to be like this but the players deserve the full praise, we had so many positive [12:01] impacts from the guys from the bench, from the guys who came in but also the guys who were pushing [12:07] positively, coaching, giving good energy from the sideline if not selected and a lot of it happens [12:15] behind closed doors, so no one has the head down, everyone stays positive, comes to training on [12:21] match day plus one, sets the standard again, lifts the spirit again, drags not anyone down, so a lot of [12:29] it happens behind closed doors and it's full credit to the team. I think everyone feels it, I think the [12:34] players feel it and they transmit it to our fans and then like I said it's just like sometimes in [12:42] Mexico I had a quick chat for example with Stan Byrne and Trevor Chaloba about the potential change [12:49] if we go to a back five and it's just nice if you see the connection to the players and the open faces [12:56] that they're open for information and open to buy into that idea and that what makes this group of [13:02] players for us very special and I hope we can show it tomorrow one more time. Thomas, Diego Enriquez for [13:11] Fox Central America, there's no secret that Argentina's offense heavily relies on Messi, [13:18] he moves freely in central spaces, were you thinking approaching more of a zone marking or [13:24] would a player follow him for not open spaces for Enzo and Julian? I was thinking about this if we do a [13:32] proper old-school man mark. Not sure if we follow through with this idea but it crossed my mind. [13:39] Well, I think everyone knows the spaces and everyone knows the spaces where he wants to show up, it's just [13:45] like if you analyze the matches you feel like he sees stuff just earlier than anyone else on the field, [13:52] it's just like the ball drops to him, he finds the gap, he makes himself this like this two meter space [13:59] for his left foot and then executes the solution on the very highest level. I think we found some [14:08] patterns in that game, of course, but if you close the patterns he will find maybe a new one and create [14:14] a new one, that's his super strength, that's just what it is. It's an exciting setup, it's very unique to [14:24] play against the reigning champions, it's very unique to play against Leo Messi and his team, it's unique to [14:30] play with England against Argentina, it's just a big match in a big tournament. [14:36] Mr. Tucho, here? Alright. Alexandre Pretz, Radio Bandeirantes Brasil. Do you think that the [14:47] German mentality changed the English team's way of play? My mentality? No, mentality German. My [14:56] German mentality. Gerald. I don't know. I don't know. I said it many times when I came to Premier League, I [15:06] love the mentality in the country towards sports and of course towards football. I think the mentality [15:12] in England and the mentality within the club brings just the best out of players and shapes the player's [15:21] character in a very unique way. It's a pleasure to be coach of this group, it's a pleasure to be with [15:26] these players every single day. I try my best to influence them, I try my best to support them. [15:34] If this has anything to do with my German roots or not, I don't know. [15:42] Yeah, we're just all very competitive and we're very together, full of respect and appreciation and [15:50] like I said, we're still competitive and for tomorrow and it's not enough. [15:57] Okay, left and side here in the middle. [15:59] Hi, Thomas. Paul McNamara from South China Morning Post. We talk a lot about players needing to recover [16:06] and get over what was a very draining match. As a head coach, how challenging for you to recover [16:13] and how have you managed to do that and freshen up again and how different is this from managing in [16:17] say a Champions League semi-final or other big semi-finals? [16:20] Well, after these Champions League knockout matches, first of all, the second match in these [16:24] knockout matches in Champions League is more demanding than the first one because in the first [16:28] one you always feel, okay, this is first leg, you have second leg so it comes very close to the [16:33] second leg formation but it feels like you have non-stop second legs because it's non-stop knockout football [16:40] which is quite nerve-wracking, especially if you follow our way with red cards and with going behind [16:46] and with VR checks and overtime. So we had quite some roller coaster experience that cost a lot and [16:54] it is kind of training. We played in the altitude, we played in the heat, you travel in between. [17:00] It is both, I think. I have the feeling or I can tell you that it fuels me, it makes me feel alive, [17:07] it's just like I love it so much that it gives me energy every day. But there are, of course, [17:12] like if you look then, if you analyze then the next opponent instead of having maybe a day off [17:18] to recover, you start analyzing again because it's only a three, most of the times for us it was only [17:23] three days in between the matches. So on the match day minus two, you want to already give the team [17:29] already solutions. So basically on the day after the match you start analyzing. First of all, I have to [17:36] I have to mention the background stuff, the stuff around me. It's just on the highest level, the work [17:44] ethic and the quality to provide me with information, to provide ideas for me, to push with energy, [17:50] to know how to influence me and how to inspire me. It's just, I'm just very, very grateful for everyone [18:01] around me who helps me on a daily basis and maybe don't get the credit. Then I try to do my morning [18:09] sport, which I do. And sometimes, you know, sometimes you just go on a bike and you just need a big [18:18] parking lot and the ice cream in your hand for 15 minutes on a bike and then you feel like 15 years [18:23] old. 15, not 50. You feel like 12 or 13 or 15 years old and you enjoy your evening in a warm summer [18:33] evening for 15 minutes with the ice cream and you reconnect to that, to the beauty of that feeling [18:40] that we all have inside of us and that's sometimes all it needs. Hi, Joan Alon from La Capital Mas. [18:50] Argentina and England have shared some iconic and historic matches in the World Cup history. [18:56] Do you think that the history carry any weight for today's players or it's completely irrelevant once the [19:02] game starts? Thank you. Good question. I would say it's irrelevant, but I'm not sure about it. I think the [19:09] players are very aware of both countries, what it means to them. If a fixture provides, like you said, [19:16] so many iconic moments, I think you cannot just say it's just another football match. But as a coach, [19:24] we do exactly that. Focus on what we can influence. Me and my team, we don't speak about the historic [19:37] events, we don't speak about the iconic moments. It's in itself iconic enough and the tension is big [19:44] enough. So we try exactly the opposite and try to influence the players and what we want them to do, [19:51] how to behave in different situations. We try to reduce the information. The bigger the stage gets, [19:58] the bigger the tension grows. So hopefully we can simplify the messages enough that they can execute [20:04] it. We try exactly what is maybe not possible, but the magnitude of the match is just what it is. I [20:15] think it does not help if we engage emotionally. I will speak in English though. [20:25] Welcome. I wanted to know, we just talked with your players, they were praising the brotherhood you [20:32] installed in the team. What have you learned, especially from this group of players and especially [20:40] maybe from coaching a superstar player like Jude Bellingham? What have I learned? I think it just [20:51] reinforced the belief that deep down football is still about being together and it is a team effort. [21:03] I think it's not only us. I think the whole World Cup showed all superstars committed [21:10] committed to the team idea, committed to the team spirit, committed to the idea to play for their [21:18] country. It's not only our superstars. We created this special spirit in September, October, November [21:29] and then we relied heavily on our nomination process on this group of players. Everyone bought into it on the [21:35] very highest level and like I said, it just reassured me and reinforced the belief that we had in this [21:52] group and from day one we were quite early out here in preparation camp. It's just outstanding mentality, [22:00] mostly behind closed doors and then you see it, of course, on match days. You see the effect of it, [22:08] but it was on the very highest level, the togetherness. The team is absolutely ready to give everything [22:16] every single time and they simply don't give in. This is the key attributes of our team, which makes me very proud. [22:25] Thomas, Matt Lawton from the Times. There's been a lot of talk about history ahead of this game. [22:31] It's also, I hate to mention it, 60 years since England did last reach a World Cup final. Do you feel [22:38] any sense of burden? Are you in any way burdened by that history? And do you have any sense, while you're [22:46] in this bubble that you exist in at the moment in Kansas and when you go to the games, of just how gripped [22:51] people are back home now by the fact that you're in this semi-final? No, but I think that's essentially [23:00] what the World Cup is for, to excite the country, to excite fans and to transmit energy and make people [23:08] forget their worries, make people's lives better for 90, 120 minutes and be just combined and be united [23:18] and represented by a team. And I think, like I said, there's so much to love about this England [23:26] squad and our squad and our team that I'm very glad that people feel it. What was the first part? [23:37] A burden. No, I don't feel a burden. I mean, we feel the tension and I will be nervous and of course, [23:43] that is normal, but I feel no burden. I feel what I really like is what I feel in the last days that [23:51] the players are very, very competitive. They are very excited and like I said, they are hungry to play this [23:58] match. I mean, the two shirts are just iconic. The historic matches, like you said, are iconic. [24:08] There are iconic moments, but everyone recognizes this shirt straight away. Everyone recognizes the [24:15] players straight away. So, it is an absolutely beauty in a magnitude of a match, in a magnitude of an [24:25] occasion. But me personally, I don't feel it as a burden. I will feel the nerves and the tension tomorrow. [24:33] That is quite normal, but that just comes normal with these matches. [24:40] Hi, coach. Ramon Medina from Venezuela. [24:45] Is it a motivation for you to become the first foreign coach to win this tournament? [24:51] Is it a motivation extra for you, for your career? [24:54] No, I never. It just doesn't work like this for me. I don't have these kind of goals and don't set [25:02] these goals. It's like, I just love what I do and I'm grateful for the opportunity. I could have [25:08] never imagined to have the opportunity to coach on that kind of level. This is just like, for me, [25:14] being grateful and it comes with the responsibility of living up to the expectations. I am myself very [25:21] competitive and I am myself the one who demands always everything, expects always everything [25:27] to be perfect and to be in the best way possible. So, this just comes with it. But I have never set [25:35] myself goals in terms of, I need to win this title, I need to do this, I need to be the first one here. [25:42] Who would I be to have these kind of goals? I just try to be the best version and the best coach [25:49] possible every single day and that's what I expect of myself and everything else falls into place. We [25:56] influence what we can, I have to influence what I can and this is where my energy goes. [26:01] Good evening Tomas, Sean Ataconte from TV Public Argentina. Argentinian players used to play as a [26:11] group of brothers that have grown up together. How important is for you to find a group of players [26:19] with that feeling? That is the essence of football for me even and for sure of international [26:27] football. To select a group of players, to live like a family together and to play for your country, [26:43] to represent your country and to do this together. If we want to achieve big things we can only do this, [26:50] like you said, as a brotherhood. This was very clearly transmitted from the Argentinian team four [26:56] years ago. Clearly you could feel it in front of the TV, how close these players are. I experienced it [27:04] of course also on club level, I experienced it with South American players, how much they mean it and how [27:12] much it fuels them to be close together on and off the pitch and how much it elevates their performance. [27:19] That's why I'm glad that we have the same bond now in our camp and that we transmit the same feeling. [27:26] I think it comes down, it's the essence and the beauty of the game and I think it's what people and fans [27:35] really demand to see a team together giving everything physically, mentally and transmit the [27:43] right energy. Because everyone knows that no one can guarantee a result but we can make sure that we [27:48] play the game in the right way, with the right mentality and mindset and attitude and I think both [27:54] teams do that. Okay, we have two questions left starting there. Franzi Müllers from ZDF aus Deutschland. [28:02] I will do the question in English as well. There's a huge focus on individual players at this tournament, [28:11] so tomorrow will be Messi on one side and on your side Jude and Harry. How is the team and how are you [28:18] dealing with this topic? Well, it just comes with it. I think the blame is on the big guys because they [28:25] deliver like crazy. So the blame is on them and you know my answer as a coach, we all strongly believe [28:33] it's a team sport and no one is doing it alone. But of course we are also relying on the world-class [28:40] moments of world-class players. Two of them that you mentioned have delivered. I think anyone in our team [28:47] can deliver an extra moment anytime. This is just how this game is and I think the big names and the big [28:54] stars have delivered on a new kind of level for their teams and for their country. So fair enough. [29:05] That's just the world we live in. I don't feel any envy, I don't feel any jealousy, for sure not in our [29:13] camp. It is just it is also down to the big players because the big names I can only speak for our camp, [29:21] how they buy into the team spirit, how they show up in training, how they lift the spirit of players [29:27] that are that are maybe not selected, that are like a bit like a down on match days, like how they bring [29:34] them back together and and and share the spotlight behind closed doors. It's just that's that's what makes [29:40] it in the end special and that's why no one is jealous, no one, no one, no one holds any bad [29:48] feelings about it. We know that that our guys can produce special moments. Everyone is is ready [29:55] to to to buy into that and and the big boys do it as well. Last question. [30:00] Yes, of course. [30:04] Yes, of course. [30:06] Yes. [30:08] It's a pleasure to saludarlo de nuevo. My question is, this is your opinion about the [30:12] decision of Argentina to use the uniforme azul reviviendo algunos otros partidos de [30:18] los mundiales en el pasado. [30:19] ¿Y usted qué hace previo a una semifinal? Come algo en especial, ve alguna película, sigue [30:26] repasando, hace alguna oración, habla con su familia. ¿Qué es lo que usted personalmente [30:31] hace? Muchas gracias. [30:37] You talk, you talk to the one person who is not aware until tomorrow's warm up and [30:42] which color we play. But you can, you can. Argentina plays in blue and we play in white. [30:50] And that is because Argentina is a lucky shirt or they chose this. [30:55] No, it's because we're a team, eh? [30:56] No, I would have done the same. I would have done the same. If there was any superstition [31:02] combined with it, I would have done the same. So, so, so credit to them. I was not [31:06] aware of that. I have my superstitious routines and I have my, my, my routines and you can [31:13] call it superstitious or being superstitious or routines. I will not, I will not tell you [31:18] because another superstition is that if I tell you it will not work. So, I can't, I can't, [31:25] but of course we have routines that keep you, keep you grounded and calm through the day. And [31:31] that will not change. But we have of course also our lucky charms and, and yeah, these things are just [31:38] normal and high level sport. [31:40] Okay. Thank you.