Tuchel reveals how 2016 shootout nightmare shaped England's World Cup penalty preparations

Thomas Tuchel has revealed that England have a structured penalty shootout programme in place for the World Cup, born directly from the humiliation he suffered as Borussia Dortmund manager in the 2016 DFB-Pokal final against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.

Speaking ahead of England’s round of 32 match against the Democratic Republic of Congo at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Tuchel admitted he was so consumed by in-game tactical preparation for that final that he completely neglected to plan for a shootout. “When the whistle went, I was just not prepared,” he said. “I forgot to prepare for a penalty shootout. So, we ended up asking the players: ‘Do you want to shoot? Do you want to shoot?’ And we were absolutely not ready. And we lost it.”

The experience left a lasting mark. “It will never happen again,” Tuchel said. “So, from there, we started our own programme, our own preparation. Now I go into the FA and I have — on the highest level, since years and years — a penalty programme that is so easy just to pick up and wait for people to tell me who are the best shooters. We trained it. We have a process in place, so we are prepared.”

England, back-to-back European Championship finalists, are among the favourites for the tournament. Their first knockout test against the Democratic Republic of Congo carries a weight of expectation that Tuchel acknowledged echoes the mood before England’s infamous defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016. Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, John Stones and Jordan Henderson were all part of that squad, and the manager believes such painful memories can ultimately fuel success.

“You will not find great athletes who didn’t suffer big defeats,” Tuchel said. “I just finished a documentary with Rafa Nadal and even I thought ‘he just wins every match every year’. But you see a year of injuries, a heavy loss, doubts, sleepless nights — everyone around him doubting it. Even if you have scars, it is just the way it is.”

Tuchel drew on his own self-doubt after a 1-0 defeat to New Zealand as a further example of the resilience required at the highest level. “I still remember thinking: ‘Am I good enough? Did I get this right?’ It’s just normal, but you accept it. And if you want to win a big prize, there is not an easy route to get there.”