On 4 October, England will face Croatia away in a qualifier. Ahead of the match, Thomas Tuchel, England's head coach, held a press conference to answer questions from journalists. Below is the second half of his remarks.

Read more: [Thomas Tuchel: I had a brief conversation with Manchester City players about their legal case; they're ready to play]

Compared to the Spain match, you made almost a complete change to the back line against Czech Republic. What are your tactical thoughts for the Croatia match? Do you have any updates to share?

Reece James is back and fit. From what we've observed, this key player trained fully today, which gives us great hope for tomorrow. He's a crucial player for us. Left-back Aaron Rourke has left the camp. There's competition at right-back, M. Guehi is in good form and likely to start.

As you know, the coach won't announce the starting lineup in advance. The team has performed exceptionally. Sometimes when we're critical of ourselves and set high standards—including myself—it's easy to overlook something: for example, in the Czech Republic match, those 11 starters had never played together before. Yet we still performed with quality, strength, and professionalism. As you mentioned, the back line rotated compared to the Spain match. The players' adaptability and willingness to adjust is very strong. Facing a new opponent tomorrow, we still need to find solutions, and we're ready.

In World Cup football, the team's core was H. Kane and Jude Bellingham. Now Anthony Gordon has stepped up, and Quansah was called in and has performed well. Do you think there's a connection between the fact that many of the team's standout players aren't playing in the Premier League?

I haven't thought deeply about this before, but as you say, Jude was a game-changer for us in the World Cup, as was Harry. There's no reason to think they can't contribute in the future. They played crucial roles in the last two matches. It's encouraging that Anthony has now developed into a third option who can step up at critical moments.

Playing abroad certainly has an impact, but I don't think Premier League players can't be key figures for the team. We have examples in our squad. Our youngest player, Lior, has shown the potential to be a decisive player, and he still needs to prove himself. Among the other players, Morgan Rogers is training well, and Morgan Gibbs-White has scored plenty in training. Eberechi Eze is also in top form. So we have plenty of options.

Hello Tuchel, I have one or two questions. My first question is about your last memory of Croatia—it's not a pleasant one. Do you remember the match against Dinamo Zagreb? What are your thoughts on that game?

It's good we're not playing in Zagreb this time. Yes, we were favorites then, and ultimately we lost. It was a Champions League match—a tough day and my final official match as Chelsea manager. Not a pleasant memory.

But you do have good memories here. You coached Croatian player M. Kovačić and faced L. Modrić many times. Both will play for Croatia in the upcoming match. How do you assess these two players? Luka is a Croatian national hero, and M. Kovačić is seen as his successor.

Luka is undoubtedly a Croatian national hero and a true legend of world football. He deservedly won the Ballon d'Or. Receiving this award at the peak of his career with Real Madrid was an excellent choice. He's an exceptionally talented player with a distinctive personality, and his on-field performances set an example for everyone. He's a true football legend.

You're right, I was M. Kovačić's coach. To this day, M. Kovačić and I share a special bond. He was my player at Chelsea, and we won the Champions League together. He's a kind, humble, and gentle person, but also strong and incredibly talented on the pitch. It's been a genuine pleasure to work with him. Whenever I see him, I want to embrace him. Our relationship is very close.

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