´We have the players´ – Tuchel confident of talent in England squad

Thomas Tuchel believes England have the players and the talent to go far in the 2026 World Cup.

The German will officially take charge of the Three Lions from January 1 but was present at the qualifying draw which took place at UEFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday.

Tuchel is tasked with reaching the World Cup for an eighth consecutive edition, with England reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals in the previous two under Gareth Southgate.

Asked if he felt he had the players available to win the competition, should they qualify, Tuchel told Sky Sports: “I knew this before and watching the matches, we have the players, the talent and the characteristics to go far. But now, first of all, we have to prove it in the qualifiers.

“It gets closer and closer, the gaps between the big nations and the smaller nations. It closes every tournament.

“It’s more difficult to win your games, so we have to show full respect and show our top level from March when it starts.”

One of those players is striker Harry Kane, who came under criticism following Euro 2024, in which he scored just three goals, earning him a share of the Golden Boot, amid underwhelming performances on their run to the final.

Group K is complete

Thomas Tuchel’s #ThreeLions have discovered their @FIFAWorldCup qualifying opponents! pic.twitter.com/a9rqHH3ZO7

— England (@England) December 13, 2024

Kane was a regular fixture for Tuchel after joining Bayern Munich last August and scored 44 goals in all competitions under the 51-year-old, who says the striker will remain as captain.

“There’s no need at the moment to look at other options. It’s like for Harry, for everyone else as well,” he said.

“I admire him, for his quality, for his leadership, for his character. The players decide in the end if they play, or they don’t play. It’s always like that.

“I’m happy to have this group of players, including Harry, big personalities and quality. The job now is to find and build the best group that people are excited to watch us, that they feel inspired watching this team.”

England will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Group K in a bid to reach the tournament held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and have never lost against any of those four sides.

“I have huge respect for Serbia and Albania. They can always surprise,” Tuchel added.

“They have a strong history of football, of technical football, of emotional crowd and emotional players and emotional groups. They have famous ex-players as coaches so we should be very aware of that.

“England never played Latvia, so this is a new experience for all of us, and then we have Andorra, where we are huge favourites, but we have to qualify. This is the most important thing.

“This is where all the focus goes. There cannot be any other approach than taking it seriously, take it with respect and make it happen before we can dream the dream.”