LONDON: England manager Thomas Tuchel is adamant there is “no curse” upon his side as he looks to end their near 60-year wait for a major international trophy.
England’s only previous major title came at the 1966 World Cup on home soil, defeating West Germany in the final.
England came close several times to ending the drought under Tuchel’s predecessor Gareth Southgate, losing successive European Championship finals, as well as reaching the 2018 World Cup semifinals and the last eight in 2022.
England’s women have enjoyed success under Sarina Wiegman, winning back-to-back Euros titles in 2022 and 2025, while the men’s Under-21 side are also double European champions after backing up their 2023 title with victory in Slovakia in June.
“Not at all,” Tuchel said when asked if he felt extra pressure due to the women’s and youth teams’ successes.
“If it is something, then it is a good omen and I was so happy for Sarina and (Under-21 coach) Lee (Carsley) because they made it and they made an extraordinary effort and a huge success with back-to-back victories...
“It is possible (to win a trophy with England), there is no curse on English teams and it is a good omen and we will do our very best to follow their example.”
England face Andorra on Saturday in qualifying for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, before taking on Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday.
“I get a lot of tips, that’s for sure, but always in a friendly manner,” former Chelsea boss Tuchel said of his interactions with England fans.
“Most of them just say, ‘Bring it home, Thomas’. That’s basically the task.”
Manchester City defender John Stones has withdrawn from the squad for the upcoming games with injury.
Stones has not added to his tally of 83 caps since last October.
“Unfortunately, John Stones just left,” Tuchel said. “He came with minor issues, muscular issues, to camp and didn’t progress as we thought and hoped he would.
“So, he left camp this morning (Friday) because we will not take the risk. Everyone else is available.”
Tuchel confirmed England captain Harry Kane will lead the side in the Andorra qualifier.
“Yes. He (Kane) starts. There is no balance, the competition is on and it is World Cup season,” he said.
England only beat Andorra, a lowly 174th in the FIFA world rankings, 1-0 when the teams met in their initial qualifier in June.
“We will face — in both matches — a deep block and a 5-4-1 for sure in the first match and it is the challenge to overcome that quickly and aggressively and play with more rhythm than we did in the first match (against Andorra),” said Tuchel.
Latvia and Albania are the other two sides in Group K of European qualifying, with the group winners booking a place at the World Cup.
‘No curse’ on England, insists Tuchel despite near misses
https://arab.news/rqjjr
‘No curse’ on England, insists Tuchel despite near misses
- England manager Thomas Tuchel is adamant there is “no curse” upon his side as he looks to end their near 60-year wait for a major international trophy
Siniakova ends Andreeva Indian Wells defense in third round
- Siniakova, a former doubles number one, will face either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or American Ashlyn Krueger for a place in the quarter-finals
INDIAN WELLS, United States: Unseeded Katerina Siniakova ended a frustrated Mirra Andreeva’s Indian Wells title defense on Monday, rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over the eighth-ranked Russian.
The 18-year-old Andreeva had opened her repeat bid with an imperious 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Solana Sierra.
But she was in trouble early and often against 44th-ranked Siniakova in a rollercoaster contest that featured seven service breaks for each player and 43 break chances between them.
When she sailed a swinging volley long to surrender the second set, Andreeva threw her racquet in disgust.
She regrouped to break Siniakova for a 3-2 lead in the third, but Siniakova won the next four games.
The Czech saved a pair of break points in the final game before sealing the match with a shot that struck the net cord and dribbled over as Andreeva could only watch, disappointment sparking another outburst from the Russian as she departed the court.
Siniakova, a former doubles number one, will face either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or American Ashlyn Krueger for a place in the quarter-finals.
In other early matches, fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula shook off a slow start to beat Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Pegula, coming off her fourth career WTA 1000 title at Dubai last month, fired 11 aces with just one double fault as she rallied for the win.
“I think today I had to kind of snap myself back and kind of lock in to not let that get away from me,” said Pegula, who said she was in danger of letting negativity and frustration get the better of her.
“I didn’t think I was playing bad. It was just letting a couple chances, couple breaks here and there (get away), maybe a couple shots that I could have been more aggressive on.”
Later on Stadium Court, world number two Iga Swiatek took on Greece’s Maria Sakkari — the woman she beat in the Indian Wells finals in 2022 and 2024.
Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, who lifted the Indian wells Trophy in 2023, played Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final match of the night.
