Tuchel urges England to attack Spain and avoid Argentina semi-final collapse in Madrid decider

Thomas Tuchel has demanded England attack world champions Spain at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday, warning his players not to repeat the defensive retreat that cost them against Argentina, as the two sides meet in a winner-takes-all Nations League group finale.

Spain arrive on a record-breaking 43-game unbeaten run and have already beaten England 3-2 at Wembley earlier in the group stage. Victory in Madrid would hand England top spot; anything less ends their hopes of finishing first.

“It’s a massive stadium, it’s a massive occasion,” Tuchel said. “It’s a team that has forgotten how to lose, so of course it requires a top performance first of all, and if we can deliver this performance, it will give us a big boost.”

The England head coach was clear that the right mentality is as important as tactics. “It’s important that we play with the same mindset that we played at home, and attack them and try to make it a physical game, and try to impose our strength,” he said. “I think that’s what we want to see.”

Tuchel pointed to England’s World Cup semi-final exit against Argentina as the cautionary tale his squad must learn from — a match in which England dropped deep, lost their attacking intent, and were ultimately beaten. The contrast with recent form is stark: since that tournament, England have beaten France in the third-place play-off, thrashed Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka, beaten Croatia again at Wembley, and defeated Czech Republic, even if the 3-2 loss to Spain at Wembley remains a sore point.

“We all feel that we deserved more in the first game, so we want to take it back in the second,” Tuchel said. “I think we’re there, and I think we’re ready to win on Sunday.”

He also drew encouragement from how England performed once they found their rhythm at Wembley, noting that Harry Kane missed a penalty at 2-1 and that the game was genuinely there for England to take. “We had maybe the worst start that you can have going 1-0 down against a team full of confidence. But once we got our energy going and played for the equaliser, we were strong. We had a very good second half.”

Tuchel acknowledged Spain’s formidable record but insisted they are not unbeatable, framing Sunday’s match as a chance to prove England can compete at the very highest level. “Push our limits. See where we are,” he said. “It’s the moment to check how far we are and to push our limit and proof of concept.”

England have come a long way since the summer, according to their head coach, and the setup of a high-stakes away fixture against the world’s best side is precisely the test he wanted.