After England's manager Thomas Tuchel led the national team to a dominant 7-0 victory over Croatia in the third match of the UEFA Nations League group stage, Tuchel held a press conference. This is part two of that press conference.

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【Thomas Tuchel: Playing football is like standing on an escalator going the wrong way. You have to keep stepping forward just to stay in place】

Hello Thomas, congratulations. This is your biggest victory as a coach so far, and is this also your best performance as a coach?

Yes, I think so. It was a complete and comprehensive performance for the full 90 minutes.

Why does everything seem to have clicked so smoothly tonight? It's not like you have completely different players, and the tactics don't seem to have changed much. So why did everything work so well tonight?

I don't know. It's just how it is. We've had time to build something, and in three days' time, it will be a completely different tactical setup—a different game entirely. We've always felt comfortable and relaxed in our team-building process. We haven't made excessive changes to our specific preparations. I think what matters now is that we've accumulated a lot of shared experience: we've come through qualifying together, we've been through major tournaments together, we've experienced huge positive emotions together, and we've also suffered great pain together.

So we understand each other better. We understand the players better. We know what to demand and how to motivate everyone. As I said, since the start of this training camp, there's been a good atmosphere and high spirits again, and it's wonderful to see that momentum building. Today, every piece of the puzzle came together. In the next three days, it will be a completely different game. Of course, it's time to enjoy this victory now. Tomorrow will be a recovery day, and then it's the final game of this training camp. We need to stay hungry, stay humble, and keep preparing the players to perform again.

Quick question: what did you think of the atmosphere tonight with so many young fans in the stadium?

It was very special. I was pleased to see the children here, and I was happy to see them have the chance to meet their idols face-to-face, to watch their idols play on the pitch. There were many Luka Modrić shirts in the stadium. It was truly magical. However, it was an unusual and very special competitive atmosphere.

Hello Thomas, how much has Anthony Gordon changed over the past few months? It's clear he now seems to be playing with more sharpness and aggression...

Yes, he's playing with far greater sharpness and confidence than before. You see a player full of confidence, full of belief, and maintaining very high standards. He's definitely found a new level and higher gear. He looks very confident and decisive across all three matches.

Can I ask about his partnership with Lewis Hall? They seem to link up perfectly on the left flank, which was previously an area where it was unclear who would be the established player. But if we look at these past few matches as a test for the future, it feels like they're...

(Interrupts) Yes, but I don't want to drop Nico O'Riley right now because he played for us in the first match, and Lewis has now played well in two matches. Of course, he loves playing in an attacking fullback role. He has excellent technical ability, likes to control the ball, plays with composure and cleanly, and enjoys those quick, agile runs and overlaps. He works really well with Anthony Gordon. They've played alongside each other for several seasons, so you see that understanding in their running patterns. Yes, this certainly helps Anthony Gordon a lot, and Lewis has been performing strongly over these two matches.

Hello Thomas, congratulations. Harry Kane said after the match that it was a Premier League-level performance, and the team is working to adopt a Premier League style of play. I know you've spoken about this before as potentially the way forward, and both Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane have expressed similar views. Are you surprised tonight by how quickly the team has absorbed and applied this football philosophy?

Yes, but this is the football they want to play. This is their belief, their desire, and their strong commitment. So it's not something we need to convince them to do, but rather how they genuinely want to perform. Harry Kane himself played very intense, high-pressing football at FC Bayern Munich. Yes, we still believe that if we press high, if we use man-to-man pressing in the opponent's half as frequently as possible, we'll have a unique advantage.This is what the team loves, what the players desire, and what they're willing to fully commit to.

Of course, there are certain risks involved, and we need to reduce and manage those risks through intense running and mutual support. Because man-to-man pressing doesn't mean you have to engage in one-on-one battles without any cover everywhere. If you watch today's match, when direct interception is impossible during man-to-man pressing, the movements of other players are always directed toward the ball, ready to help and cover. So it always has to work as a team. But the team has the belief and desire to play this way, and we support them. It's not something we're forcing the team to do.

Finally, I think this should be a tactical blueprint for the future, shouldn't it?

Yes, of course it is, but there's danger in that too. Because the next match will be completely different. We shouldn't have unrealistic expectations. We shouldn't expect to score seven goals every time or create numerous chances every time. We'll face a completely different game next time. The next competition will be very different. That's why I focus mainly on the team's mentality, the effort in running, and the efficiency of teamwork, and all of that was at the highest level today.

As long as we can maintain that, we'll be able to overcome other difficult matches, because that's the nature of football: nothing is easy, and if it looks easy, there's hard work behind it. We need to start fresh. We need to stay humble. That's why I love our mentality and how the players performed. I think the mentality is at the highest level too, and I'm very pleased about that. Now I hope everyone will take recovery seriously and prepare for the final stage of this training camp.

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