Article by Aurelian Botezatu – Published Sunday, June 14, 2026, 1:32 p.m. / Updated Sunday, June 14, 2026, 1:32 p.m.
The England national team debuts at the final tournament only on June 17, in a 24 karate match against Croatia.
By the time of the “tournament” with the ex-Yugoslavs, coach Thomas Tuchel is working hard on the psyche of the players. For him, this is crucial when you want to win a World Cup-sized competition.
The stars left at home failed the character test
In the foreground of his concerns is the unity of the group. Chapter at which some players – Harry Maguire (33 years old), Phil Foden (26 years old), Cole Palmer (24 years old) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (27 years old) – would have failed and that would actually explain their removal from the squad for the final tournament.
As for those chosen to give it their all for a second world title, after the one won in 1966, one crucial element is sacred: team spirit. Internally, Tuchel always talks to them about “brotherhood”. This is a bond between people based on solidarity, shared values and often special rituals.
In recent months, Tuchel has held many talks with former World Cup participants. He wanted to learn from their experience. And besides the quality of the squad, everyone mentioned team spirit as the most important building block to winning a title.
The rules implemented by Thomas Tuchel at the Albion national team
The following rules play a central role for the general coach in building the “brotherhood” that he constantly preaches in the discussions he has with his stars:
- Players need a sense of security.
- Players need a lot of trust in their teammates and in the technical and support staff.
- Each player must know and accept his role.
- Players must be willing to persevere together for a long period of time, ideally eight to nine weeks, away from family and friends.
Their equipment was stolen, the cook couldn't get on the train, and they had to deal with a 'killer' storm on Saturday night
So far, since arriving on American soil, the English have had nothing but bad luck. This week, their cleats, footballs and other training equipment were stolen from a courier van carrying the equipment from Florida, which hosted the team's “warm-up” camp, to Kansas City, where the team will be headquartered during the final tournament.
In turn, the team's chef was prevented from boarding a train traveling on the West Palm Beach – Orlando route because he had a set of knives on him. These set off a metal detector at the station and he was advised that he would not be allowed to take the knives onto the train and would have to board without them.
Last minute, Harry Kane and his teammates faced a serious storm on Saturday night. They were warned about it by the US National Weather Service on cell phones:
“Take shelter in a solid building away from windows. Objects blown into the air can be deadly for those caught homeless. For your own protection, move to a room as safe as possible on the lowest floor of a building.”
