Three Lions face a potential stumbling block in an in-form striker leading a dark horse nation
It is impossible for England to avoid focusing on Erling Haaland as they face Norway in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final in Miami, according to Thomas Tuchel.
Although his side have the weight of expectations heading into the tie, Tuchel also believes that talk of favourites no longer matters once a team has reached the last eight.
Haaland has scored seven goals in four matches and inspired Norway to a 2-1 victory over Brazil that secured the country’s first appearance in a World Cup quarter-final. Tuchel, who has faced the Manchester City striker several times in club football, said England have no choice but to prepare to contain one of the most complete forwards in the game.
“You can’t avoid focusing [on him], for sure not,” the England head coach said. “There is so much quality in his moments and you have to make decisions. He will always arrive on the second post so the question is when to make contact with him.
“Some defenders like to stay zonal and get the earlier jump. Some like to step back and start fighting with him on the ground, physically – but then he pushes you aside and gets a free header. If you stay zonal he jumps over you. He has all the weapons.”
Tuchel has experienced Haaland’s impact on a game before. The striker scored against his Paris Saint-Germain side while at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, and later found the net in both legs of Manchester City’s quarter-final victory over Bayern Munich when Tuchel was in charge of the German club.
Here, England have the higher ranking and greater tournament expectations, something Haaland has jovially said should be to his side’s advantage, but Tuchel rejected suggestions that Norway will arrive without pressure.
“Norway overperform,” Tuchel said. “But internally they know very well how good they are. They proved it. They eliminated a big, big, big nation [in Brazil] on a big stage. And from there on, there is no such thing any more as favourites.
“I understand that it’s a bit of a lighter situation [for Norway] and they can ride this wave. But we’re not thinking in this manner and I don’t feel our players are playing with fear. I don’t feel the weight of the shirt. And now we go. No matter who is on the other side, no matter if we are favourites or not or if the pressure is on.”
The England manager also acknowledged that his team have yet to produce their best football despite reaching the quarter-finals.
“We need to play better,” Tuchel said. “We need to spend more time in the opponent’s half. We struggle too much to overcome a high press of the opponent. We need to be better in the deep buildup, in the high press. More connected.
“Our identity is not so obvious from a football point of view in this tournament. We struggle. It’s not a matter of commitment. It’s a matter of we’re a bit stuck in thinking. We are thinking about the pass and then it is already half a second too late. The gap is not there anymore. We are a bit overprotecting, overthinking and we need to get rid of that.”
