Thomas Tuchel knows all about the threat Erling Haaland poses. The England head coach has faced the Norwegian striker multiple times—and mostly come off second best.
Now, Tuchel must find a way to stop Haaland when England meet Norway in the World Cup quarter-final in Miami on Saturday.
Tuchel's History with Haaland
Tuchel's first encounter with Haaland came in the 2019-20 Champions League.
Then in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, he watched Haaland score both goals for Borussia Dortmund in a 2-1 first-leg win.
PSG turned it around to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
Things went worse in 2022-23. Tuchel was at Bayern Munich, and Haaland had moved to Manchester City.
Haaland scored in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final as City won 4-1 on aggregate.
Tuchel once joked about bringing Haaland to Chelsea.
In an interview with German publication Sport Bild after winning the Champions League with Chelsea, he said he would have “no problem” pairing Haaland with Romelu Lukaku.
Borussia Dortmund were unimpressed, and Tuchel had to apologise.
“I always need to apologise,” Tuchel said. “They don’t get my humour.”
Haaland's World Cup Form
Haaland has scored seven goals in four appearances at this World Cup, including two in Norway's historic 2-1 win over Brazil in the last 16.
Norway have never before reached this stage of the tournament.
The 25-year-old has also enjoyed his time off the field.
He posted pictures on social media wearing a cowboy hat and boots, and a T-shirt reading “Y’all can kiss my Dallas.”
Haaland is the symbol of a team playing with freedom. “There are some clear favourites out there and England are one of them,” he said.
“So I think all of you should put every single pressure on the English lads.”
Tuchel rejects the underdog narrative. “Norway overperform,” he said.
“But internally they know very well how good they are. They proved it.
They eliminated a big, big, big nation on a big stage. From there on, there is no such thing any more as favourites.”
Heat and Pressure
England face not only Haaland but also searing temperatures in Miami. The mercury is forecast to push 34°C at kick-off.
England have so far played in air-conditioned arenas or cooler conditions.
Tuchel is confident his team's warm-weather training in Florida will help. “When we stepped out of the plane in Miami, we expected it to feel painful,” he said.
“Maybe we are still lucky and we get another dark cloud over the stadium and full rain.
But the science says that we banked a lot of heat training. We haven't lost that.”
The pressure of expectation also weighs on England. Supporters expect to win based on world rankings and squad value.
Tuchel wants his team to play with freedom.
“We need to play better,” he said. “We need to spend more time in the opponent's half.
We struggle too much to overcome a high press. We need to be better in the deep buildup, in the high press.
More connected.”
Tuchel believes his players are overthinking. “It's a matter of … we're a bit stuck in thinking,” he said.
“We are thinking about the pass and then it is already half a second too late. The gap is not there any more.
We are a bit overprotecting, overthinking and we need to get rid of that.”
Stopping Haaland is the key. “You can't avoid focusing on him, for sure not,” Tuchel 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.”
