21/03/2025

FRIDAY | MAR 21, 2025

30

SPORTS

‘Tuchel must win something’ German has to justify England role, says Redknapp

‘New manager’s aura can inspire England’ “It wasn’t a manager that jumped out at me when I heard it. I thought, oh my God. When we got (Italian Fabio) Capello, you’ve got Capello, he’s a serial winner, the Champions League, Milan, wherever he managed. He was iconic. Tuchel’s T HOMAS TUCHEL was a surprise choice as England coach and will have to win next year’s World Cup to justify the FA’s decision to appoint him, according to Harry Redknapp. German Tuchel became England’s third overseas head coach when he was named as Gareth Southgate’s successor last year and makes his debut against Albania at Wembley tomorrow (3.45am). Former West Ham United, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp said Tuchel, who has an 18-month contract, was not his obvious choice, but that he has inherited a squad which is the envy of the world. “It’s all a strange situation really. I heard (former Arsenal goalkeeper) Jens Lehmann this morning saying could you imagine Germany having an English manager? It’s impossible,” Redknapp, who will return to the dugout for a South of England vs North of England fixture in June, told reporters.

something, basically, to be a success. (Tuchel’s predecessor) Gareth (Southgate) took us so far. “He’s got an opportunity, he’s got a great squad, great group of players,” said Redknapp. “You probably wouldn’t swap them for anybody. So, it’s all there for him to go and win a trophy.” Southgate steered England to two Euro finals and the World Cup semi-finals but failed to deliver any silverware. Redknapp, who was always overlooked for the England job, said he would prefer an English coach for the post, but added only Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe stood out as a candidate. “I’m all for an English manager, me. I would like to see that. If you can’t find an English manager, there’s something gone wrong somewhere. “It’s not the coaching system, because they can do their coaching badges. The FA can’t do anything about choosing who manages what clubs. That’s down to the owners. “They’re all foreign owners. And they come in, and they seem to want to have foreign managers.” – Reuters silverware left available to City. While neither would have been top of their list back in August, Foden said they had to take something from a disappointing campaign. “It is so important. I feel if we come up with the FA Cup and finish in the top four it will save a poor season in my eyes,” Foden said. “It is one of our main targets now to make sure that we are playing Champions League next season. “It’s in our hands if we win our games as we’ve got to believe in what we can do and believe we can do it. “It’ll be a real positive and maybe we’ll go into next season with a bit more confidence. “It wasn’t our aim to be here at the start of the season but that’s football sometimes, you never know what’s round the corner. “There’s always teams improving and challenging us and, yeah, we’ve had a bit of a slip this season but we can still finish it off strong and save the season if you like.” In eight years the 24-year-old has won six League titles, the Champions League, two FA Cups and four League Cups in an almost unprecedented golden spell for an academy player. When success becomes the norm, failure is felt all the more keenly and Foden said it had brought a new appreciation of just what he had achieved. “One hundred per cent. If I ever win anything again I am going to make sure I enjoy it even more because it shows how quickly things can change,” he added. – The Independent an impression as I can and then just try and make the next camp. But obviously, every little kid’s dream is to play in a World Cup. “So to know that I’ve got that opportunity, if I take it, it’s special. When you’ve been passed up over so many international breaks you sort of accept that time’s passed but luckily the new manager has taken a chance on me. “I’ve been doubted a lot over my career. I think not many people who watched me play at Darlington would have said I’ll be sat here doing a press conference for England. But I feel like I deserve to be here.” – Reuters

been here, done okay.” The 51-year-old

Latvia on Tuesday (3.45am) and Redknapp says the German will learn little from those fixtures. “Listen, it’s hard to judge at the moment. He’s picked a squad to play two useless teams. I’ll be

Tuchel won two league titles with Paris St Germain, t h e

watching Coronation Street when that’s on. I just can’t be bothered to watch that,” the 78-year-old Redknapp added. “What do we gain from seeing us beat Latvia 5-0 or 6-0? What

Champions League with Chelsea and t h e

Bundesliga at Bayern Munich but this is his first international role.

do we learn about any of the players? It’s difficult, until we get into a competition.” England also face

England’s World

Cup qualifying campaign begins against A l b a n i a before t h e y host

Ando r r a and Serbia in Group K. “ H e ’ s got to win

Top-four finish, FA Cup win can save City’s poor season: Foden

Ű BY CARL MARKHAM

MANCHESTER

CITY

forward Foden believes winning the FA Cup and finishing in the Premier League top four will “save a poor season” and set them up to challenge for the top honours again. Nine League defeats have left Pep Guardiola’s side 22 points adrift of leaders Liverpool and in a battle just to qualify for the Champions League, having exited that competition at Phil

ASTON VILLA forward Morgan Rogers says Thomas Tuchel’s special “aura” can inspire England’s bid to win the World Cup. Tuchel met up with his players for the first time on Tuesday ahead of their opening World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia at Wembley. The German, who began work as Gareth Southgate’s successor in January, held a team meeting on Tuesday where he outlined his mission for World Cup glory next year. Rogers, currently managed by Unai Emery at Villa, said he has never worked with a boss with such a magnetic presence. “When I met him his aura and demeanour, it’s hard to describe but he has that level of confidence, that level of respect already,” said Rogers. “The presence is a bit different. Certain managers have different ways about them. Certainly his aura is one I’ve not experienced before. That’s different to what I’ve faced before. “You can see the way he is, the way he acts. He has been so chilled and calm. But when it is time to work, it is time to work.” England lost the last two

European Championship finals under Southgate as their wait for a first trophy since the 1966 World Cup goes on. As England’s third non British coach, Tuchel is under extra pressure to deliver. But Rogers is confident the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss, who won the Champions League in his time at Stamford Bridge, can cope with the expectations. “Winning the World Cup is the only goal, he was very clear and transparent with what he wants to do, how he wants to do it, how he wants to go about it, what he sees in us, and what we need to improve,” he said. “It was very straight-up, no cutting round corners. It was straight and that’s how he is. The best way to get information across is to be like that.” “The main thing I took from that (Tuesday’s meeting) was about the love and commitment he wants from us within, how he wants us to be a family, how he wants us to be close and connected,” the Aston Villa forward added. – AFP/Agencies

the hands of Real Madrid in the playoff round. The FA Cup and the often

m u c h - de r i ded p o s t - s e a s o n C l u b World Cup, n e w l y expanded and already m o r e difficult to win, is the o n l y

Phil Foden

Burn setting sights on World Cup

NEWCASTLE UNITED’S Dan Burn knows his career has not been a “straight line” but at the age of 32 everything is suddenly falling into place for the towering defender who on Friday could earn a belated first England cap. Six days ago he took a call from new England manager Thomas Tuchel who informed him he was part of his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia at Wembley. On Sunday Burn’s majestic header, his first goal of the season, paved the way for Newcastle’s first domestic trophy for 70 years, a 2-1 League Cup final win over Liverpool.

didn’t think I was making it. “But then he said he just needed to end the day on a good note, and that he wanted me in the squad.” Burn’s role in Newcastle’s League Cup triumph has cemented him in the club’s folklore but he is now setting his sights even higher – next year’s World Cup finals. “I’m not just coming in as a cheerleader, I want to play,” Burn told reporters. “I want to make as big of

So on Tuesday he was the man everyone wanted to talk to at England’s St George’s Park headquarters. “I’ve had worse weeks,” Burn told reporters. “When it got to 6 o’clock Thursday night and I’d not heard anything, I said to my wife, ‘I don’t think anything’s going to happen, then I got a text saying, ‘Are you still awake?’.” “(Tuchel) said that he just had been ringing everyone who hadn’t made the squad, so again I