PRAGUE: England head coach Thomas Tuchel has played down the pressure surrounding Tuesday’s Nations League clash with the Czech Republic, insisting the Group A3 encounter is “not yet a must-win” despite England’s defeat to Spain.
England suffered a 3-2 loss to the reigning world champions at Wembley on Saturday after surrendering a 2-1 lead. The result has made the Three Lions’ path to the Nations League semi-finals more challenging, but Tuchel believes there is still plenty of football to be played in the group.
“It’s a bit early in the group for a must-win,” Tuchel told reporters in Prague on Monday.
The German coach, who guided England to a third-place finish at the World Cup, said his team’s immediate objective remains unchanged: to secure a victory in Prague.
“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.
Tuchel acknowledged that a positive result would be important for England’s confidence following their opening defeat.
“You always need a result in football to get confidence, support and belief. Especially after a defeat,” he added.
Czech Republic Looking to Build Under Denia
The Czech Republic will also be looking for a response after beginning their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 home defeat against Croatia.
The match was the first competitive test for new coach Santi Denia, who became the Czech Republic’s first foreign head coach during the summer. Denia previously led Spain to Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games.
Tuchel expects England to face a difficult challenge in Prague, particularly against a Czech side attempting to establish a new identity under Denia.
“We respect the opposition, we respect the quality and we respect the challenge that it brings if you play in Prague against Czechia,” Tuchel said.
England Facing Injury Concerns
England could also be forced into changes, with Tuchel revealing that Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly are carrying minor problems after starting against Spain.
“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.
The England boss had initially hoped to limit rotation during the international camp but stressed that player welfare would remain the priority.
“My mindset before the camp was to not rotate too much. But we will always be very considerate with the health of the players,” he said.
Czech Republic’s Strong Home Record
England face an additional challenge in Prague, where the Czech Republic have avoided defeat in their last four home meetings against the Three Lions.
The Czechs also won the most recent encounter between the sides in Prague, claiming a 2-1 victory in a Euro 2020 qualifying match in 2019.
However, Denia faces the difficult task of rebuilding a team that finished bottom of its World Cup group. The Spanish coach has called England “one of the best teams in the world” but said his side would concentrate on its own progress.
“We are focused on our development, to improve our performance and to improve our details with our team,” Denia said.
With both sides looking for their first Nations League points of the campaign, Tuesday’s meeting in Prague promises to be an important early test for Tuchel’s England and Denia’s developing Czech Republic side.
