Pickford Expects Tuchel to "Intensify Psychological Preparation"

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford anticipates that Thomas Tuchel will "intensify the psychological preparation" in his pre-match team talks for this summer's World Cup. The German manager is renowned for his passion, a trait fans first witnessed in March 2025 when he likened winning the World Cup to scaling Mount Everest.

Pickford, who is set to be England's starting goalkeeper for his fifth major tournament, believes the coach will ramp up the intensity in the dressing room as he attempts to inspire the players to glory. "I think the manager will step up in that regard – the passion he'll instill in us, the team talks. I think he knows what he's doing there," the Everton stopper told talkSPORT. "His speeches are very good, high quality, to be honest."

"Our coach is brilliant. It's typical here that when we train, we work hard; when we're in meetings, we listen, we focus, and the manager leads those meetings, and that somehow reflects in training or in the game. I have to say, he's one of the best."

England achieved significant success under their previous national coach, Gareth Southgate, reaching two European Championship finals – an unprecedented feat for the team. However, they viewed this more as a missed opportunity, especially given that the rescheduled 2021 Euros culminated in a final held in London. Now, with Tuchel at the helm, they hope to achieve something far greater: becoming world champions, a title they haven't contested in a final for 60 years.

Part of Tuchel's plan is to foster a "brotherly atmosphere" within the squad, something Jude Bellingham claimed was lacking despite reaching the Euro 2024 final. Pickford added that "such a journey is never smooth sailing," but also insisted there is now "greater cohesion."

"Since 2018, for me personally, you're on a journey, you're traveling with everyone, and you have to smile, you have to be happy. I've always said that in tournaments, things aren't smooth; it's like a rollercoaster. People will have bad days, you might get fed up with each other on an odd day, that's an integral part of it."

"In this camp, once that brotherhood comes together, the manager will keep pushing, and I think it's up to the players to keep pushing it forward. From personal experience, I know every minute is important and can change the atmosphere," the goalkeeper concluded.

England kicks off their Group L campaign on June 17th at 11:00 PM Bulgarian time against Croatia, the bronze medalists from the previous World Cup in 2022.