England coach Thomas Tuchel said Monday the upcoming Nations League game against the Czech Republic in Prague was “not yet a must-win” despite a 3-2 loss to Spain last weekend. Reigning world champions Spain came back from 2-1 down in an entertaining Group A3 opener at Wembley on Saturday, denting England’s hopes of reaching their second-ever Nations League semi-final.
“It’s a bit early in the group for a must-win,” Tuchel, who led England to the third spot at the World Cup, told reporters in Prague. “In general we always arrive at every match and prepare the team with a target to win… it was the target against Spain and it’s the target tomorrow,” he added.
“You always need a result in football to get confidence and to get the support and to get the belief you always need. Especially after a defeat.” He said he expected a tough opposition from the Czechs who had hired their first-ever foreign coach, Santi Denia of Spain, in the summer after finishing last in their World Cup group.
The Czechs also got off to a stumbling start in the other Group A3 game on Saturday as they lost to Croatia 2-1 at home despite showing some improvement to their game under the new coach. “We respect the opposition, we respect the quality, we respect the challenge that it brings if you play in Prague against Czechia,” said Tuchel.
The former Chelsea manager said Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly, who both started against Spain, had “minor issues” that may rule them out on Tuesday. “Ideally I would love to put the same team out there, but I need to speak with doctors, physios and the players themselves,” said Tuchel. “My mindset before the camp was to not rotate too much,” added the German coach. “But