Tuchel and Kane deliver rousing team talks following Latvia victory
And after clinching their World Cup berth, Tuchel was full of praise for his England players, telling a delighted dressing room how competing in the biggest competition in world football was one of his lifelong ambitions.
In a behind-the-scenes video which has now been shared by England, Tuchel began with exuberant clapping and shouting “really nice” towards his charges, before formally addressing them by saying: “One minute, congratulations, six wins, six clean sheets, eighteen points, we are there in the summer, we are there, brilliant.
“My childhood dream to go to the World Cup, I could not be more proud than to go with you guys, we will rock this thing in America next year, okay, let’s go!”
Tuchel was then joined by captain Kane, who urged his team-mates to maintain their focus ahead of England’s remaining two qualifiers against Serbia and Albania in November, stressing the importance of building momentum ahead of the World Cup.
The Bayern Munich striker politely asked “Boys, can I add something?” and after his wish was granted by Tuchel, he continued by saying to the dressing room: “Boys, I think it’s easy to underestimate what we have achieved, you know, six wins, no goals (conceded), sometimes the outside noise will make it seem like 'oh, we just turn up in America and it’s easy', but I think the work we’ve done together, the relationships we’re building, it’s what makes a special team. You know, I said in the last camp, I feel like we’re getting a good momentum going forward and now we continue that, we’re qualified but we go full gas in November, everyone back, everyone ready to go and we carry on like we’re doing.”
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Tuchel takes chants on the chin after criticising England support
Tuchel, meanwhile, was on the receiving end of pointed chants from the good-humoured England faithful at the Daugava Stadium. After criticising the level of support his players received in the 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wembley Stadium, chants of “Thomas Tuchel, we’ll sing when we want!” and “Thomas Tuchel, are we loud enough for you?” were aimed towards the German in Latvia.
However, Tuchel took the response from the England fans on the chin, saying after the game: "I got a bit of stick today, in the first half, pretty much in every song. So fair enough. Well done. I take it and good humour, good sense of humour. They had a reason today from my last comments and I guess that's fair enough. I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative. It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It's British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done. It's so important. They are here and I said the support in Serbia was brilliant, and we are very sure the support in America will be absolutely brilliant.”