Thomas Tuchel says history will not fuel his side when they take on Argentina in the World Cup semi-final tonight – although ice cream and a bike ride will power its head coach.
The Three Lions’ opponents have repeatedly referenced the Falklands War of 1982 in their dressing room celebratory songs throughout the tournament, along with Diego Maradona, whose 1986 Hand of God goal helped controversially knock England out at the quarter-final in Mexico.
A relaxed-looking Tuchel faced the world’s media on the eve of what promises to be a momentous clash in Atlanta and was asked if his men would be using the two nations’ shared history as motivation.
‘It’s a big rivalry,’ he said. ‘Two big football nations. We expect an intense match, an emotional match, a lot of momentum swings but we don’t use it as a fuel.’
Instead, Tuchel suggested he would be attempting to play down the backdrop. ‘The players of both countries are very aware of what it means to them,’ he said. ‘You can’t say it’s just another football match. As a coach we do exactly that – we focus on what we can influence.
A relaxed Thomas Tuchel faces the media in Atlanta ahead of Wednesday’s big match
‘We don’t speak about the historic events. The tension is big enough. We try the opposite and to influence the players in how we want them to behave. It does not help if we engage emotionally.’
Tuchel believes that the prize on offer – a final date with Spain in New York on Sunday and an opportunity to end a 60-year drought – is enough to spur his side on.
‘We know why we are here, what we want,’ he said. ‘We were never shy of saying it, of dreaming it. We arrive very hungry. We want the next win. We don’t dip into historical events or make it bigger than it is. We are hungry and ready to go.’
He also warned that while England are yet to click, Wednesday may well be the occasion. ‘We haven’t peaked yet,’ Tuchel admitted, ‘but a match like this will bring the best out of my players.’
Tuchel did explain what fuels him and helps him recharge between matches. ‘Sometimes you need a big parking lot, a bike and an ice cream and you feel like a 15-year-old (again),’ he said. ‘You reconnect to the beauty of that feeling we all have inside of us.’
Should England progress to the big show in the big apple, they will need to stop Lionel Messi, who they are encountering for the first time. And the German was asked how he planned to deal with the little maestro. While he kept his cards close to his chest he joked that he was ‘thinking about doing a proper old school man-mark’.
England’s progression has captured the imagination of the country and Tuchel was asked if he was aware of the depth of feeling at home.
‘That’s what the World Cup is for,’ he said. ‘To excite country, excite the fans, to transmit energy and make people forget their worries, make people’s lives better for 90, 120 minutes. And to just be combined and united and represented by a team. There’s so much to love about this England squad.’
‘I don’t feel a burden,’ Tuchel added. ‘We feel the tension and I will be nervous but I feel no burden. I feel the players are very competitive, excited, hungry to play this match. The two shirts are just iconic. Everyone recognises these shirts straight away, the players straight away. The magnitude of the match is beautiful, I don’t feel it as a burden.’
Declan Rice trains in Atlanta ahead of the World Cup showdown against Argentina
Bringing an entertaining 30 minutes to a close, Tuchel was pressed on whether Argentina’s successful request to wear the ‘lucky’ navy change shirts they donned in their 1986 and 1998 victories over England were a concern.
‘You are speaking to someone who does not know the colour of our shirts until we got out for the warm up,’ he said. ‘I would have done the same so credit to them. We have our lucky charms but I will not tell you what they are.’
Meanwhile, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni repeated his previous comments when asked about the Falklands, expressing sympathy for those who lost their lives but reiterating that his focus was on the football.
‘It’s a football match,’ he said. ‘I can’t mix things up, out of respect for what happened so many years ago. It was a very sad time in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it. Mixing the two would be madness. We criticise that there was war. We have to remember the people who lost their loved ones.
‘But what fault is it of the players? We remember it, of course, but we are mistaken if we mix the two things together.’
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