Thomas Tuchel insists England must make “an advantage” out of football’s new “physical era”.
The 52-year-old has already spoken about how his side have embraced “set-pieces”, following a recent trend in the Premier League.
The issue was also the subject of renewed debate in recent weeks, as more tactically expansive continental sides eliminated four Premier League clubs from the Champions League, and Tuchel did insist that his team would have more variety to their game.
Tuchel had actually been asked about whether this is a new “defensive era”, but offered a more nuanced response.
“We’re in a very physical era of the game in the Premier League and an era where set pieces, free-kicks, corners and throw-ins are very highly rated,” Tuchel explained. “That’s just the reality of it and it is part of the match in the Premier League maybe more than other leagues and that is just the reality.
“It is part of it and even if I mentioned it [set pieces] many times today, it is not the main part of our approach. But it has to be a part, especially in knock-out football.”
Tuchel added that this is the real value of his side’s friendly matches against Uruguay and Japan.
“We need to come up with a good plan for how to defend and how to attack [set-pieces] and make it an advantage,” he said. “It has to be now, in the last games before the World Cup, it has to be in our thoughts – how to change matches, how to influence matches, how to open up a match. It’s just the way it is.”
Given that Tuchel has been at the forefront of the game’s tactical movement as a club manager, it was also put to him whether he ever worries that he may lose his edge by not getting to test himself against coaches like Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta.
But the German made light of that, replying: “Hopefully not! I feel quite excited now to have the players coming back. It is very different to club football.
“Once I felt it today coming to Wembley [for the press conference] it gives you a kind of edge, I feel the edge when I see matches in stadiums, and I will be there to push the team against Uruguay and then against Japan and in the US I will push and fight for my team for the best outcome.”
