Thomas Tuchel insisted that Manchester City’s conviction for breaching Premier League financial rules was not affecting England’s players, despite costly mistakes from Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guéhi in the 3‑2 loss to Spain.
The news that Manchester City had been found guilty on 114 of 115 charges broke on Friday afternoon, diverting focus from England’s Nations League preparations against the world champions at Wembley the following day. Nevertheless, Tuchel selected Guéhi, O’Reilly and Elliot Anderson to start against Spain, though the situation remained on everyone’s mind after England’s first fixture since the World Cup.
England responded to the defeat in their World Cup semi‑final against Argentina by pressing forward, but they ultimately rued Harry Kane’s missed penalty when leading 2‑1 against Spain in the second half. Defensive lapses, however, proved costly as Guéhi and O’Reilly gifted Spain two goals, yet Tuchel remains confident that the controversy surrounding Manchester City is not affecting the team.
“I won’t comment on it as it’s an ongoing case,” Tuchel said. “I haven’t made it a topic for myself; my mind is on Spain, the squad and the sessions. I can see the players will talk about it because they have more time, and that’s fine. I don’t think it will distract them.”
“There is no value in highlighting individual errors or telling players not to make mistakes. There are areas where we can improve. We aimed to be the side that could outplay them. We felt we had control at half‑time. It’s something we can build upon.”
Tuchel described the result as a missed chance and explained that he had left Trent Alexander‑Arnold out of the starting XI because of Jarell Quansah’s defensive attributes at right‑back. “There was a lot of defending to do on that flank,” he said. “We need to close the gap, and Jarell’s speed was crucial. He performed well during the week and showed his quality in the World Cup. It’s not his shirt; he must earn it, but he entered this camp with a small advantage.”
England face Czechia away on Tuesday, then travel to Croatia next Saturday before concluding the camp with a home game against Czechia on 6 October. Tuchel has chosen James Trafford ahead of Jordan Pickford as the goalkeeper and will give the Leeds shot‑stopper another chance against the Czechs.
