The FA have released footage of Thomas Tuchel’s maiden speech as England boss as the FIFA World Cup edges closer.
Welcoming the England squad to St George’s Park in March 2025, Tuchel sat them down in the meeting room and launched an impassioned monologue to set out the aims of his tenure.
‘The mission of why we are here is very very clear,’ Tuchel said. ‘We want to be world champions. We want to put the second star on our shirt. It’s very important that we just speak about it straight away. The target of this mission is clear. Second star on our shirt.’
In a spine-tingling speech, Tuchel pulled up England’s very own Mount Everest on the screen. Each international camp in the build-up to the World Cup was marked by climbing to the next base on the mountain.
The final camp represents the summit, where England hope to bring the World Cup home.
‘Today guys, on the first day of the first camp, I was immediately affected, immediately reminded why I wanted this job in the first place. Why I absolutely wanted to have it, and why I got excited about it – the reason is you,’ Tuchel told his players.
‘So, of course, bad news, huh? You know, it's bad news. It's not enough because it's not only about football. It's not only about offensive deep deep build-up, offensive and defensive patterns. It's not only about set pieces. It's a big big part. But in international football and especially in international football, it's not only about football.
‘I spoke to a World Cup winner and he was in two World Cups and he said the difference between the quarter-final and the win was it was the same level, the same quality of players but once we arrived as a brotherhood we were ready to die for each other.
‘It would have been no problem if camp was two months, so we stayed two months in the camp no problem because we loved each other. Let's build guys, let's build something special until we arrive in the US.
‘The point is, guys, I want to arrive here,' he points to the top of his Everest chart. ‘I'm not even talking about winning. I want to arrive here on top when it gets really tough with the toughest group in the world. When we sit on the plane and land, we know already this will become a great camp and this will be a team no-one wants to play against. And they will feel it. They will feel it in the mixed zone. They will feel it in the tunnel. They smell it.’