Thomas Tuchel has warned that club managers cannot expect favours from him over the fitness of their England players, insisting “we do what’s good for us.”
England play their second World Cup qualifier in four days against Latvia at Wembley on Monday night, with Tuchel preparing to name his second line-up as head coach.
Anthony Gordon has returned to Newcastle United with a hip injury he suffered in the victory over Albania and Tuchel will make some changes, with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers pushing to make his first England start, having won three caps as a substitute.
But Tuchel has made it clear that he will not make any allowances for the fact clubs face busy and pivotal domestic and European schedules after the international break, or worry about upsetting other managers.
Captain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice could all start again for England on Monday night and Tuchel said: “Given the fact Declan Rice played in the next [Champions League] match after a 7-1 first leg [win] with Arsenal, I didn’t have the feeling that they think so much about us. So I don’t think we have to break our heads about this [keeping clubs happy].
“I take care of the players. We take care about the schedule. But it would be the wrong signal to tell players now ‘hey, you have tough [club] matches coming up so I rest you now’.
“We have a qualifier to play, we do what’s good for us. We monitor them, we are in contact with the clubs, we are in high-level monitoring where the statuses are known and we won’t take any unprofessional risks. Because first of all I feel responsible for the players. I don’t want the player to be injured, I want the players to play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League – all of them – because I want to watch it, I want to see it.
“So this is where it is and in the end we take care of ourselves and the clubs take care of themselves, and the main focus is taking care of the players.”
Last October, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he had never been “so angry” that John Stones was injured while playing for England before the club’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid last season.
Tuchel, the former Chelsea head coach, acknowledged that he would have preferred his players not to start two games in four days for their countries when he was a club manager, but added: “I know that this window, this camp, is a window where the clubs play at a very crucial time of the season. They play for championships, they play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
“We are very well aware of it, but we also have our own goals, we have our own targets. The players are keen to play and it has to be like this.
“I experienced it many, many times in clubs that players from South American countries don’t even think about dropping one minute because they want to play for their country, they’re proud to play for their country. This is also something that we have to understand and accept.
“I always accepted it as a club manager. I never got involved in line-ups. I never pushed any national coach because I was hoping that my players get picked. I was also hoping that they are proud to play.
“Of course, you’re never happy if something happens. No one can predict that there is no accident, but we have a World Cup qualifier and we’ll make responsible decisions.”
