rewrite this title Thomas Tuchel: England ‘brave enough to dream’ of World Cup glory

Thomas Tuchel says his England players will be “brave enough to dream” they can win next summer’s World Cup.

England and Scotland will learn their group stage opponents on Friday at the finals draw in Washington, D.C.

Tuchel’s men have been handed an advantage already by FIFA’s introduction of a Wimbledon-style seeding system, which means they cannot meet Spain or Argentina until the semis or France until the final, should all four countries win their respective groups.

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Tuchel was appointed in the autumn of 2024 with the sole mission of adding a second star to the England shirt to add to the one marking the 1966 World Cup.

Asked if he was even more confident now that England could win it than he was when he accepted the job, he told BBC Sport: “Yes, because we have got better. We have to arrive and try to make a special thing happen, but we cannot guarantee it.”

He added in a separate interview with ITV Sport: “Everyone knows that we cannot promise that we will win it, but they want to see a team, team spirit, a team that gives everything [and] fights for each other and they want that if they are in the stadium or watching on the TV.

“If the players bring that then I think anything is possible. We will be brave enough to dream about it, we will be brave enough to try it.”

All coaches will have to cope with extreme heat at the finals, which are primarily being staged in the United States but with Canada and Mexico co-hosting.

Tuchel is prepared to do whatever it takes to win, including giving consideration to keeping his substitutes in the dressing room to stay cool, a tactic employed by some teams at the Club World Cup in the U.S. last summer.

“If this is what helps us later in the match when they come on, OK, we consider that as a possibility,” he told the BBC.

“Nobody likes it as I want the players to be out here and feel the energy and give the energy from the bench onto the field, but I know what you mean. I saw teams doing this and players doing this at the Club World Cup. Hopefully we can avoid it. It is always better if they can be with us.”

England and Scotland could be joined at the finals by the Republic of Ireland, plus one of Wales or Northern Ireland depending on the outcome of playoff matches scheduled for March.

Scotland, who booked their first finals appearance since 1998 with victory over Denmark last month, have been placed in pot three for the draw and could be pitted against England in the group phase.

However, no-one will know until Saturday the order they will face their opponents in, or the location or kick-off time for any match. FIFA will instead reveal the match schedule at 5 p.m. UK time on Saturday.

Next summer’s tournament will be the first to feature 48 teams, with a round of 32 also introduced for the first time.

Northern Ireland, the Republic and Wales will all be in pot four in Friday’s draw.

If both teams win their semifinals, Wales will host Northern Ireland in a one-off match for a place at next summer’s tournament. Wales must navigate a home tie against Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Michael O’Neill’s men are away to Italy.

The Republic must first beat Czechia away from home, then win away to Denmark or North Macedonia to emerge victorious in playoff path D.