Pearce urges England stars and Tuchel to seize rare World Cup glory chance

Stuart Pearce has urged England’s players and head coach Thomas Tuchel to treat the 2026 World Cup as a once-in-a-generation opportunity, warning that chances to win the tournament do not come around often.

Pearce, who earned 78 caps across a 12-year international career but attended only one World Cup — Italia 90, where he missed in the penalty shoot-out defeat to West Germany — speaks from painful personal experience. The former Nottingham Forest left-back, now working as a media pundit, said the rarity of the occasion should sharpen every player’s focus.

“From an individual point of view, I was an international for 12 years but I only went to one World Cup, so they come round quite rarely,” Pearce said. “The players should be looking forward to this. It’s a fantastic opportunity and even for me, working on the media side, it’s exciting times.”

Pearce, 64, also offered a firm endorsement of Tuchel, dismissing any suggestion that he harbours reservations about a foreign manager leading England. The German, who has Champions League success on his CV, was appointed specifically to go further than Gareth Southgate, who guided the Three Lions to two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final.

“People pre-judge me and think maybe I don’t want a foreign manager at the helm,” Pearce said. “But I think that whoever is the manager, we have to get right behind him. He came across really well, very open. If you ask him a question, he will give you a straight answer. In this day and age, it’s quite rare.”

On England’s prospects, Pearce placed France and Spain as the leading favourites but believes Tuchel’s side — built around global stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham — are capable of being “a tough nut to crack”. He acknowledged that momentum and tactical balance will be decisive factors.

“If he gets the formula right and the balance right, we’ll be a tough team to beat,” Pearce added. “We’re all intrigued how far Tuchel can take us. He was brought in to go a step further than Gareth Southgate did, and Gareth took us to the latter stages of these tournaments — he’s got a fantastic record that I’m acutely aware of.”

For Pearce, the broader message is straightforward: elite players and elite managers rarely align at the right moment, and England’s current crop must not let the opportunity slip.