New Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel says he won’t do any favours for Premier League managers as they never help England.
He taken a firm stance regarding the management of England players, insisting he will pick the players he wants regardless of domestic schedules.
With England set to face Latvia in a World Cup qualifier on Monday night at Wembley, Tuchel has made it clear that he prioritises the national team’s needs over the interests of club managers, even with significant club matches looming.
Tuchel specifically referenced Arsenal’s use of Declan Rice in consecutive Champions League games against PSV Eindhoven, despite a 7-1 lead from the first leg, to underline his point that Premier League clubs do not always consider the national team’s schedule when managing their players.
He stated that he does not feel compelled to rest players like Rice to accommodate club demands, that his focus is on fielding a strong squad for the qualifier, regardless of the opposition’s ranking—Latvia being 140th in the FIFA world standings.
While Tuchel acknowledged the importance of player welfare and monitoring their physical condition in collaboration with clubs, he insisted that England’s performance standards must remain high, and plans to make changes to the lineup against Latvia due to injuries, such as Anthony Gordon’s withdrawal, potentially giving opportunities to players like Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
However, he rejected the idea of resting key players simply to ease the burden on their clubs, arguing that such a move would send the wrong signal to his squad.
This approach has sparked a potential club-versus-country tension, as Premier League managers, including Arteta and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, who previously expressed frustration over John Stones returning injured from international duty, may feel their players are being overworked during international breaks.
Tuchel drew from his own experience managing Chelsea, remaining unapologetic, and asserting that his responsibility lies with England’s success, not with accommodating club schedules.
"No one will be dropped from a performance point of view" ❌
England manager Thomas Tuchel talks his team selection ahead of tonight's fixture with Latvia 🏴 pic.twitter.com/39zlTw8bLj
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 24, 2025
Tuchel said: “Given the fact Declan Rice played after a 7-1… a 7-1 first leg and Declan played the next match with Arsenal. I didn’t have the feeling that they think so much about us so I don’t think we have to break our heads about this
“I take care of the players. We take care about the schedule. But it would be the wrong signal to tell players now: ‘Hey you have tough club matches coming up so I rest you now.’
“We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us, we monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs, we are in high level monitoring where the statuses are known and we won’t take any unprofessional risks.
“Because first of all I feel responsible for the players. I don’t want the player to be injured, I want the players to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it. So this is where it is and in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care about themselves and the main focus is taking care of the players.”
England struggled to break down Albania on Friday night but Tuchel is demanding a big performance from his players no matter the opposition. The manager said: “I will tell this also to the players before lunch: with all respect this is not now just to get a win over Latvia no matter how.
“This is about our standards. How do we win, how do we play and how do we impose ourselves and deserve a win against Latvia? It’s to raise the standards.”
Meanwhile, Declan Rice says England players will be happy to get a “kick up the a***” if that helps them win the World Cup.
“I think you need that. You can’t be comfortable. This is top level international football. Me personally, I would rather be told that by the manager than it be hidden. I would rather that, because then it’s going to give me a kick up the a***.
“Even with the manager working with him this week, he isn’t going to take any nonsense. He knows that he’s here to win the World Cup. That’s what we want to do as a group.
“And to do that, you need to push everyone, and you need to be uncomfortable. And if you’re too comfortable, you’re not going to get anywhere. And I think he knows that. So I think how he’s been with us this week, this week has been really, really positive.
“It’s not about being too nice. We’ve been such good friends with each other. In the past there was talks of the rivalry, about the lads coming in and not getting on, and then it obviously completely switched where lads are all pretty much best mates with each other.
“But in terms of where we can improve as a group is just being uncomfortable with each other, sometimes. Where we are such good friends, having uncomfortable conversations on pitch, if it’s not going well, that’s where we can go to the next level in terms of getting over the line.
“As the tournaments go on and as the games get harder, you do talk more as a group. That’s why you can’t just have one leader. You need a lot of players in a group that come together, can have honest, uncomfortable conversations, but not like conversations where it’s like, ‘He’s saying stuff about me’ and you take it personally.
“It’s like constructive criticism, and I think that’s what we need more as a group in terms of what Harry was saying: more of us can chip in more, more of us can give our opinions, and we can form a really good group here where we can be honest with each other and push on.
“It was a really good example, the Man City documentary that was on Sky Sports. And there were a lot of clip of them before the games. And it wasn’t just Walks (Kyle Walker) who was the captain at the time talking. You had Rodri talking, you had Ruben Dias talking, you had Jack Grealish talking. And there was one more player… I think it was Kevin De Bruyne.
“Five of them, all talking before a game. And it’s not just one captain it falls on. It’s like a big group of players that demand and want the best for each other. I get on with everyone.
“Sometimes I’m a bit too nice, but definitely that’s a role that Thomas has asked me to take on. Gareth asked me to take on. Same at Arsenal where I need to be more demanding, I can be more honest with players. To be fair, this year at Arsenal, probably I’ve taken that step a lot more than what I had done in the past.
“Obviously, I was captain at West Ham from a young age, so I do have the responsibilities to do that and lead, but definitely something I can improve on in my game is that leadership side of stuff.”
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Fans reacted as Thomas Tuchel says he won’t do any favours for Premier League managers as they never help England…
@dwoodley1990: Good on him too 👏
@DavidBurton1971: Bold move knocking Southgate. IMO Fridays affair was no different and as dull as Southgate. You have talked the talk now need to walk the walk Tommy boy!
@janhopi: He’s not wrong is he?
@janhopi: Well clubs have a duty to take care of them too but they don’t, is the implication. Obviously I know clubs might argue they’re doing periodisation and rests aren’t actually always good for players. But they should bake international matches into their calculations in that case.
@foreverayellow: i approve of what he’s saying, he’s not wrong, and everything else we’ve tried we’ve failed, so it’s good to see tuchel challenging, doing something different
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