Tuchel: England will reach peak form when opponents truly want to win; Rice to start

Ahead of England's Round of 16 FIFA World Cup match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, England manager Thomas Tuchel spoke to the English media.

On the match against the Democratic Republic of Congo

Tuchel: We are completely ready, yes. We just need to understand that we are entering a less glamorous phase of a major tournament—essentially a Round of 32 knockout tie. Once again, we are the favorites to win. We have expectations of winning, and everyone expects us to win. So there is nothing more to achieve than meeting our own expectations. We need to be smart enough to understand this, do what needs to be done, and find a way to win, because in the Round of 32, we are essentially facing a repeat of Panama and Ghana.

You said after the Panama match that we would see a stronger England in the knockout stages, and you hope to see an even better England...

Tuchel: If we can progress through the next few rounds and go deeper in this tournament, we will see our best form. Once we reach that level where opponents truly want to beat us, rather than just contain us or prevent us from playing, that is when we will shine. I don't think now is the time to dazzle or expect a spectacular performance. Now is the time to get through, do the job, move forward, and show individual quality in small moments. Because we see that no one can create chances against them and no one can easily score goals against them. Colombia played very defensively, and Portugal also played very defensively. They defend with everything, take pride in their defensive organization, and are extremely well-coached. This could be another test of patience.

Do you feel there is too much external obsession with performance levels?

Tuchel: I don't know what the outside world is saying; I don't pay attention to it. I live in my own bubble. I understand that a match against Croatia is completely different in terms of expectations and setup. If you play a top-10 team in the world in the first match and we did that in the second half and scored four goals, then people might expect, "Please play like this against Ghana" and "Now against Panama, please play like this." But the match setup is very different, and unless proven otherwise, I haven't seen any team easily break through Panama's defensive line and score freely. I haven't seen that, so we need to rely on set pieces until the match opens up. That is what is happening. This also happens in the Premier League in December, January, February, March. When you go to an away FA Cup tie and you win, you know, "Well, the opponent was well-prepared, you have to grind it out, you win through set pieces, or you open up the match through set pieces." I think adaptability is crucial, and understanding our situation is important because it gives you freedom—so you don't feel disappointed, frustrated, or doubt yourself—because we need to trust ourselves. It's hard to do what we need to do. We want to find a way to win; we want to meet our own expectations. We need full support; everyone needs to understand our situation. Now is the time to deliver results.

Some people say England is too dependent on Bellingham and Kane. What would you say to them?

Tuchel: Ten weeks ago we were too dependent on Kane; now we are too dependent on Bellingham and Kane. There is no problem with that; I don't object to any opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own view. Of course we depend on them—why shouldn't we? Why shouldn't we make them the core? Why shouldn't we build tactics around them and put them in dangerous positions? Why not? So I don't see this as negative. Should our other attacking players step up? Do they need to step up, get involved, develop throughout this tournament, and win matches? Yes, clearly they do. That is the responsibility our players have right now.

Yesterday, when Rice was absent, Bellingham played in a deeper role. I want to ask you about your relationship with Bellingham now, because from the outside, it initially seemed a bit complex. But we noticed during breaks, you often have deep conversations with him and put your hand on his shoulder. How would you describe your relationship?

Tuchel: I demand; I demand from everyone. It took us some time to find the right fit, and that is completely normal. There is nothing wrong with that. I always had a plan for Bellingham to be an important player in the team, a central player in our squad. I am delighted he is showing this. He has the potential to be a loyal player for the team and, moreover, to decide matches through his individual quality. That is exactly what we want. So he is performing brilliantly right now, and that is thanks to himself. It's great to have him; he is showing his best.

Is Rice fit enough to start?

Tuchel: Rice is ready to start, and he will definitely start.

He will start, won't he?

Tuchel: Yes, of course.

Do you think England missed him in the last match?

Tuchel: We always miss Rice. Rice is one of the best midfielders at connecting deep defensive positions with high attacking positions. So we give him that all-around midfield role. He has an extremely high football IQ. Yes, now he needs to regain his form and rhythm. We kept him on the bench in the last match because of a yellow card. We cannot risk losing him to suspension. He is a key player and extremely important to us.

Let's talk about right-back. How is Quansah doing?

Tuchel: He is training hard. Today he did individual work. There are reports he might join full training tomorrow. I am the first to be delighted by those reports. Reece James is also fighting hard.

So could both of them start?

Tuchel: Time is tight; I'm not confident either will be ready. We are still trying, but it will be a close call.

Do you have other options? Would it be Spence?

Tuchel: Spence is a reasonable option, and we also have Ngoyo.

But given that he is performing well at center-back, would you want to move him to the wing?

Tuchel: He is playing very well at center-back right now, so ideally I wouldn't want to do that. But it is an option because Stones is training at a very high level and could play in the middle. That is basically it. If there are further injuries, Burn could potentially play on the left wing as well.

You must be keen for defensive stability, given that you have had to field a different back four in each match.

Tuchel: Yes. We were a bit too aggressive with our high press. We were also a bit too aggressive with our man-marking. I think we are one of the few teams that constantly press the opposing goalkeeper, which even left us a man short on the pitch. This made us vulnerable, particularly in the last match. We need to correct this. This won't be how we play in the knockout stages. We need to time our pressing better. We need to adjust our defensive behavior to protect ourselves against their good counter-attacks, or to react quickly after losing the ball. This aggression stems from a good place—from our eagerness to press high—but we just want to keep pushing forward, pressing, pressing, and it is a bit too much, making us too vulnerable.

Thomas, you were hired to win the FIFA World Cup for England. This is the first match that will determine whether that summer goal can be achieved. If England loses, that dream could be shattered for the first time. How does that feel?

Tuchel: It doesn't feel good when a dream could end, but that is not our focus. We are preparing for a difficult match, a knockout match. To be honest, it feels very exciting. The tournament has truly come alive. We need to be at our highest level, and that includes me. I know what the dream is, I know why I am here, I know my ambitions. So this is not over yet.