Tuchel warns England stars they must win two shootouts to lift the World Cup

Thomas Tuchel has put England’s players on notice that winning the World Cup will require surviving two penalty shootouts, not one — a message he has delivered both in group meetings and in individual conversations with his squad.

Tuchel’s backroom staff have analysed the structure of the expanded 48-team tournament and concluded that the additional knockout round, combined with potentially tight, low-scoring matches in the summer heat, makes two shootouts a realistic prospect for any side going all the way.

England finished a behind-closed-doors training session against Miami FC on Thursday with a shootout drill, underlining how seriously Tuchel is taking the preparation. The squad already contains established penalty specialists in Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Anthony Gordon, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka. Tuchel specifically highlighted Toney’s inclusion as partly motivated by the striker’s composed finish in the shootout against Switzerland at Euro 2024 and his strong technical execution from the spot.

England’s shootout history has been turbulent. They lost three in a row in 1990, 1998, and 2006 before beating Colombia on penalties at the 2018 World Cup, only to suffer defeat in the Euro 2021 final in the same manner. Tuchel is determined that history does not repeat itself.

Beyond penalties, the England manager has also identified set-pieces — free-kicks and corners — as a decisive factor in this tournament, with the squad working on those routines in Thursday’s session, which was played across two 25-minute halves.

Tuchel’s staff have also assessed squad usage, concluding it is highly likely that only 21 of the 26 players will see game time. The five who miss out are expected to include two reserve goalkeepers, which informed Tuchel’s decision to prioritise experienced squad players and good tourists such as Jordan Henderson and Dan Burn.

England open their Group campaign against Croatia next Wednesday. Jude Bellingham is the favourite to start in the number ten role, while Bukayo Saka is working to prove his fitness. Ezri Konsa and John Stones impressed as a central defensive partnership in the Costa Rica warm-up and are expected to continue together.