Tuchel vows to 'bring football home' as England face Norway in World Cup quarter-final

Thomas Tuchel insists England can end their 59-year wait for a major trophy as they prepare to face Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals in Miami, with a place in only the second final in the nation’s history at stake.

The England manager invoked the “motherland of football” when asked what the iconic ‘It’s Coming Home’ anthem means to him. “It’s Wembley, it’s the cathedral of world football — so this is why it should be coming home,” Tuchel said. “But we have some steps in between. We cannot get carried away.”

Tuchel, who admitted he has fallen in love with international football since taking the England job, was keen to stress that his squad’s focus is entirely on Norway rather than any potential final. “That is what we agree with the team — we draw a line in the sand. It’s no more Mexico. It’s only about Norway.”

England enter the tie as heavy favourites, ranked fourth in the world compared to Norway’s 19th, but Tuchel was quick to dismiss any sense of complacency. Norway eliminated Brazil in the previous round, and the England head coach said that result came as no surprise to him.

“They over perform — but I think internally they know very well how good they are and how many problems they can cause to any team in the world,” Tuchel said. “They eliminated a big, big, big nation on a big stage. From then on there is no such thing as favourites. It’s the quarter-finals — everyone plays to win the competition.”

Erling Haaland and his Norway teammates will arrive in Miami with momentum and confidence, yet Tuchel insisted his players are not weighed down by expectation. “I don’t feel our players playing with fear. I don’t feel the weight of the shirt. We overcame a difficult group and had good and difficult steps in between. And now we go — no matter who’s on the other side.”

England have not lifted a major international trophy since the 1966 World Cup and have suffered consecutive near-misses under Tuchel’s predecessor Gareth Southgate, reaching the final of Euro 2020 and the semi-finals of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Victory in Miami would set up a semi-final and leave the nation just one win from a first final since that famous Wembley triumph nearly six decades ago.