"Since winning the World Cup on home soil in 1966, England have only gone beyond the quarter-finals twice, finishing fourth both in Italy in 1990 and in Russia in 2018. In that time, they have gone out in the last eight at five tournaments, the last 16 twice and the group stage once (also second group stage in 1982), while failing to qualify on three occasions."
"And Tuchel believes England must mould a cohesive team, rather than a group of star individuals, if they are to succeed. "We will arrive as underdogs at the World Cup because we haven't won it for decades," he told reporters ahead of Thursday's friendly against Wales at Wembley. "We will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time, so we need to arrive as a team, otherwise we have no chance.""
"The Three Lions are fourth in the FIFA World Rankings and are one of the favourites to lift the most prestigious trophy in international football, having finally hit top form under Tuchel with a 5-0 win in Serbia last month. However, the German does not believe England should view themselves in such a light."
England are nearing qualification for the 2026 World Cup and could secure a spot depending on the Albania v Serbia result before a trip to Latvia. England sit fourth in the FIFA rankings and showed strong form with a 5-0 win in Serbia, but long-term World Cup results include only two advances beyond the quarter-finals since 1966 and several early exits or failures to qualify. Team officials view arriving as underdogs as realistic and stress the need to forge a cohesive team rather than rely on star individuals. Inspiration was drawn from the New England Patriots' dynasty as a model of sustained team success.
Read at Soccer News
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