ATLANTA — Thomas Tuchel has said surprise early World Cup exits for Germany and Netherlands will “calm our minds” and help England not to “over-expect” when facing Congo DR on Wednesday.
England are strong favourites in Atlanta to progress to the last 16 but the game comes just two days after Germany were beaten by Paraguay and Netherlands lost to Morocco at the same stage.
Congo DR have never reached the knockout rounds before while England are aiming to win their second World Cup 60 years on from their sole triumph.
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Asked whether the high-profile casualties in the round of 32 were a warning to England, Tuchel said on Tuesday: “It is the nature of knockout football. The match between Netherlands and Morocco sounds like a quarter or a semifinal, and Brazil against Japan is for sure worth a quarterfinal of any tournament because of the quality of the two teams.
“What it shows to me… Canada found a winner in stoppage time [against South Africa], Morocco equalised in stoppage time then it went all the way. Germany went all the way to penalties.
“I think it can calm us down in a way. It is just narrow margins. It is tight football matches and it helps us not to over-expect and put it in the right framework, what has happened in this World Cup.
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“Teams are well drilled, teams defend on the highest level, teams are well prepared and it is difficult for any team to break teams down, especially when you arrive as favourite and face teams with nothing to lose. For me, it helps us to calm our minds, accept the situation and make the most of it.”
Congo DR are ranked 46th in the world by FIFA — although they are currently projected to rise by five places — compared to England’s fourth place but Tuchel is warning against another difficult game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the mould of their draw with Ghana and laboured win over Panama in the group stage.
“Our opponent will play in the role of underdog which is always the easier role,” Tuchel said.
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“But we accept this and we know how to handle it. Nothing changes for us. We will have a humble approach. We will have an approach where we focus on us and we put it in the right perspective.
“It doesn’t matter what the FIFA rankings says tomorrow or what FIFA think the game should be. We will answer the question the game demands, while the game is being played and for that we need freedom, a proper mindset, we need to be calm and be ready to perform. I think we are.”
