Tuchel says Manchester City’s England players are worried about their futures ahead of Nations League game in Croatia
Thomas Tuchel said Manchester City’s England players were worried about their futures while in England’s camp ahead of the Nations League game against Croatia, and that the issue had been discussed at meals and in meetings.
The head coach, who suggested he would continue picking City players even if the club were relegated, linked the concern to the Premier League case over alleged financial breaches and said the topic had been prominent in conversations around the squad. The Football Association prevented a follow-up question on whether the City case represented a danger to English football, and the club maintain their innocence and on Friday announced an appeal against the verdict.
“If I say now it’s not then I can just speak for myself, which would be totally narrow-minded,” Tuchel said. “I think it is a distraction. It is. Let’s say it is a subject. If it’s a distraction, I don’t know. It is of course a topic and we speak about it at dinner and at a table of eight or 12 people. We speak about it at breakfast. I know the Man City players get a lot of messages and phone calls and feedback about it. Are they worried or concerned? I think that would be a very human reaction if you don’t know what’s going on for the club that you signed. They’re still young. They’re ambitious. They’re told they are totally innocent and don’t know what’s going on. It is a subject. I am again not sure if it’s a distraction. I don’t see it when I see them in my meetings. I don’t see it how they behave with other teammates, and I don’t see it in training being a distraction. But it’s a topic. How can’t it be?”
Tuchel named three City players in his squad for the camp — Elliot Anderson, Marc Guéhi and Nico O’Reilly — but O’Reilly has withdrawn injured. Guéhi made a costly error during last weekend’s defeat by Spain and Anderson was off colour during the win over Czechia last Tuesday, yet Tuchel said he believed both were ready to start against Croatia on Saturday night.
Jordan Pickford will replace James Trafford in goal for the match, and Tuchel faces a right-back decision over whether to restore Jarell Quansah after Trent Alexander‑Arnold’s strong display against Czechia in Prague. Alexander‑Arnold was an unused substitute when England drew in Rijeka in 2018 and Tuchel said he had considered whether it was now or never for the Real Madrid defender, who turns 28 next week.
“Maybe, maybe a little bit,” he said. “Once you are in camp it’s a big opportunity if other players are not here. Trent is a unique player. He is not a runner, he is not someone who runs through the last line, who does overlaps, underlaps.” Tuchel added that Alexander‑Arnold is building a connection with Bukayo Saka and said: “Bukayo is normally used to a lot of movements around him. That brings normally the best out of Bukayo. They need also to find a way to not be too static, to not be too ball-position focused and that we play with dynamic movement. That’s maybe the challenge for Trent: to buy a little bit into a new idea and a bit out of his comfort zone. He’s trying and it’s never too late to prove a point.”
On Saka’s condition, Tuchel said: “He had a strong start. I could see he was pain free. He had a bit of a strange ending to last season. He was playing through the pain, he was deciding matches but struggling to have big influence – and yet then having the biggest influence, by scoring decisive goals. He scored decisive goals without being fit and without having the capability to accelerate and decelerate Now I felt him more involved, and felt he was more dangerous at the start of the season – and still I think there is some level still to come when he plays for England.”
England, second in Group A3 with three points from two games, will face Croatia on Saturday night.