'No curse' on England, insists Tuchel despite near misses

England's only previous major title came at the 1966 World Cup on home soil, defeating West Germany in the final. England came close several times to ending the drought under Tuchel's predecessor Gareth Southgate, losing successive European Championship finals, as well as reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the last eight in 2022.

England's women have enjoyed success under Sarina Wiegman, winning back-to-back Euros titles in 2022 and 2025, while the men's Under-21 side are also double European champions after backing up their 2023 title with victory in Slovakia in June. "Not at all," Tuchel said when asked if he felt extra pressure due to the women's and youth teams' successes.

"If it is something, then it is a good omen and I was so happy for Sarina and (Under-21 coach) Lee (Carsley) because they made it and they made an extraordinary effort and a huge success with back-to-back victories... "It is possible (to win a trophy with England), there is no curse on English teams and it is a good omen and we will do our very best to follow their example."

England face Andorra on Saturday in qualifying for next year's World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, before taking on Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday. "I get a lot of tips, that's for sure, but always in a friendly manner," former Chelsea boss Tuchel said of his interactions with England fans. "Most of them just say, 'Bring it home, Thomas'. That's basically the task."

Manchester City defender John Stones has withdrawn from the squad for the upcoming games with injury. Stones has not added to his tally of 83 caps since last October. "Unfortunately, John Stones just left," Tuchel said. "He came with minor issues, muscular issues, to camp and didn't progress as we thought and hoped he would.

"So, he left camp this morning (Friday) because we will not take the risk. Everyone else is available." Tuchel confirmed England captain Harry Kane will lead the side in the Andorra qualifier. "Yes. He (Kane) starts. There is no balance, the competition is on and it is World Cup season," he said. England only beat Andorra, a lowly 174th in the FIFA world rankings, 1-0 when the teams met in their initial qualifier in June.

"We will face - in both matches - a deep block and a 5-4-1 for sure in the first match and it is the challenge to overcome that quickly and aggressively and play with more rhythm than we did in the first match (against Andorra)," said Tuchel. Latvia and Albania are the other two sides in Group K of European qualifying, with the group winners booking a place at the World Cup.