'We dare to dream' says England boss Tuchel as Three Lions prepare for first group match

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Ahead of a World Cup warm-up match against Costa Rica, Tuchel was asked whether reaching two Euros finals makes England one of the favourites. He said: “It’s absolutely relevant. If you get to two Euros finals, and reach semi-finals and quarter-finals of the World Cup, then you are there - then you can win it.

"Then maybe it just takes a bit of luck or whatever. I strongly believe we are there, but I also believe we are not the favourites because of the history.

"We know what it takes, and it also requires a calm mindset and focus on our steps. If we want to reach the top of the mountain, we need to start the journey step by step. Otherwise, we’ll get distracted.

"I have belief. We all have belief and a dream. But it comes with hard work, responsibility, commitment and discipline - and sometimes disappointment. That’s all part of it. But we dare to dream, and that’s important.”

He also said England cannot win the World Cup if they obsess about the role of Jude Bellingham or any other star.

The back-to-back European Championship finalists arrive in North America among the favourites to triumph on the global stage 60 years after Sir Alf Ramsey led the nation to glory.

England possess some of the game’s biggest names, but Tuchel has repeatedly stressed any chance of success rests on building a cohesive unit rather than squeezing in stars.

Real Madrid mainstay Bellingham is among those whose fight for a place is under the spotlight, but the German coach says the focus must be on the group.

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“Well, we have a lot of proof we can win football matches without Jude and that’s the more important headline,” Tuchel said having faced a few questions about the midfielder.

“Jude is with us, Jude is in amazing form but we have to stop talking about individuals.

“Jude will not win this World Cup alone. It’s simply impossible. No-one will win this World Cup alone. We win it as a team.

“What will we do if Jude has an injury tomorrow? And hopefully he has not one. I will not play this game. You can play this game.

“We have Harry (Kane), we have Declan (Rice), we have Jude, we have Morgan (Rogers), we have Bukayo Saka. We have big, big players and some of them will be on the bench.

“Some of them will be (on) in the end. Some of them we will need in extra time. Some will take a decisive penalty. Some will start and we will do this as a team. Otherwise we have no chance.”

Tuchel says he understands the “fascination” over England’s stars, but says “you don’t need to convince me of the quality of Jude Bellingham or of Harry Kane”.

The Euro 2024 runners-up kick off their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17 after taking on Costa Rica in the Orlando heat on Wednesday and Miami FC in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Thursday.

A tough path awaits a side Tuchel sees as contenders rather than outright favourites to go all the way.

“How many favourites are there? No, we’re not the top favourites,” the England boss said. “We can’t be because we haven’t won it for so many years.

“There are proven winners in the tournament with more success. These are the favourites. We compete for the trophy, we dream big.

“We know what it takes if we dream big. It comes with responsibility. The responsibility is on the effort and this is where the focus is.

“We see ourselves as competitors, as challengers. We want to go all the way but I don’t think we are the heavy favourites.”

Tuchel feels he would have no chance of succeeding if he got bogged down in the background noise and controversies surrounding this World Cup.

Asked if he is able to separate the politics from the football, the England boss said: “Yes, and I am very grateful for the FA that they let me separate it and be the head coach, talk about football and just talk about football. Otherwise we have no chance to go all the way.

“Because we need to be focused. The tournament is hard enough if we focus on football.

“If we get distracted and I also give too many opinions without having the full knowledge about the situation, it does in general not help.”