Thomas Tuchel has reminded his England squad about expected standards of conduct after a recent incident involving a club manager. With qualification for the 2026 World Cup already secured and a flawless record, England now travel to Tirana to face Albania in their final group match.
Tuchel watched his side beat Serbia 2-0 on Thursday, using all five substitutes as he rotated the team. Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Eberechi Eze combined for the second goal, while young Nico O’Reilly made his debut at left-back. Djed Spence, who started the previous qualifier, was an unused substitute but hopes to feature in the last game.
The coach said he spoke to Spence after the defender failed to acknowledge his club coach following a 1-0 loss to Chelsea. Tuchel made his concern clear: “Yeah, I didn’t like it,” he said, stressing that players are representatives of the national team at all times.
England have scored 20 goals without conceding in seven qualifying matches. If they keep a clean sheet in Albania, they will become only the second team to reach a World Cup finals without letting in a goal.
Tuchel also urged caution to avoid suspensions that could affect tournament squads. He pointed to recent high-profile sendings-off and their consequences and advised players to think long term rather than risk a red card. He noted past cases where red cards led to bans at major tournaments and asked his players to be sensible in tight situations.
On the issue of discipline, Tuchel said: “It is important, I’m aware of it and we will talk about it – no red cards please!
“Because we are through, and we are in a position with the last man and the player holds the shirt he gets the red card, so if there’s a doubt, then it would be smarter not to do it.
“If we can avoid it, no red card, but I don’t want to make it too big a subject, because then you have a cloud above you. But if you have the choice, don’t do it.”
His message was clear: protect the team’s position and avoid needless risks as England close a successful qualifying campaign.
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