Thomas Tuchel has named the one team he wants England to avoid playing at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Three Lions are set to learn their group stage opponents today (Friday, December 5) with the draw taking place in Washington at 5pm UK time.
England head into the World Cup finals as one of the favourites with Tuchel’s side currently fourth in the FIFA world rankings.
Tuchel will be managing England at a major tournament for the first time after he succeeded Gareth Southgate in January.
Under Tuchel, England became the first European nation to ever go an entire World Cup qualifying campaign of over six games without conceding, winning all eight of their matches and scoring 22 goals.
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But there is one particular country England’s German head coach Tuchel is desperate to steer clear of when the World Cup finals get started in June.
Tuchel does not want England to face Germany in the knockout rounds as he told ITV: ‘For me personally, it adds some emotions on top of it and some extra pressure.’
There was some controversy when Tuchel was first announced as England’s new manager due to the head coach being German.
England view Germany as their biggest and most significant international football rivals, having faced them in the 1966 World Cup final as well as in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and semi-finals of Euro 1996.
The last time the two nations locked horns at a major tournament was at Euro 2020 as England defeated Germany 2-0 in the last 16 at Wembley.
At the 2010 World Cup, Germany beat England in the last 16 with Frank Lampard cruelly denied a goal which had clearly crossed the line.
England and Germany have faced each other 35 times in total with the Three Lions winning 14 of those matches.
The largest victory came in 2001 when England thrashed Germany 5-1 away from home.
‘I am sorry I just have a German passport,’ Tuchel said in his first press conference as England boss last year.
‘But maybe the supporters can feel my passion for the Premier League, my passion for the country, how I love to live and work here.
‘I will do everything to show respect to this role and to this country. This is the biggest one in world football and everybody can be assured, no matter what nationality my passport says.
‘Everyone has their opinion. Even if someone says, “I would fancy an English coach more for the English team”, I can understand it. But I think we deserve a fair chance.
‘We deserve the credit for having a good record in the country, for never being shy of how much we love to live in the country. Maybe this counts a little bit for a British edge on my German passport. So we will try to convince them by results and the way we play.’
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