Thomas Tuchel issues warning to England players in World Cup 2026 countdown

England were stunned by Senegal, leaving Tuchel with a number of issues to solve to establish the Three Lions as contenders for the 2026 World Cup

Thomas Tuchel admitted he needs to get better after suffering his first defeat as England manager, but warned his players to hit the ground running next season in the battle to earn a place in the World Cup 2026 squad.

Senegal beat England 3-1 at the City Ground on Tuesday, ending Tuchel’s 100 per cent record in his new job and the German said he would not call it a good start to his tenure, with the most recent international break also including a laboured win over Andorra.

And while admitting he needs to improve personally, he called for patience after underlining that there is still plenty of time until the World Cup.

“If you know me, then you know after a loss I will never say ‘yes it’s a good start’. Never. I will never allow that to myself,” he said.

“With a job and building an atmosphere and building a group and being a leader it’s about more than just results but of course I’m judging myself also on results, I want to win every match. So it’s not perfect. We need to get better. I need to get better. There’s still a long way to go. Next week is not the World Cup.”

England have won all three games in World Cup qualifying to earn a four-point lead in Group K, but Tuchel warned there is still work to do and it is not guaranteed they will be in the United States next summer.

“This is the perception because we are competitive, we are in tournaments, we qualify,” he added. “I’m still 100 per cent convinced that we qualify and we will be competitive and are able to win our qualification group. There is no doubt and there will never be a doubt.”

Tuchel has told his charges they need to be playing regularly for their clubs next season if they are to be in the best possible shape to make his squad.

Thomas Tuchel must find a way to solve England's issues ahead of the World Cup next year (Reuters)

He was asked about Kyle Walker, who finished last season on loan at AC Milan after struggling at Manchester City.

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But a number of other England hopefuls have to resolve their futures, with Jack Grealish losing his place at City and Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United, Liam Delap moving to Chelsea, Trevoh Chalobah potentially being made available for transfer by the Blues, James Trafford wanted by Newcastle, Marc Guehi likely to attract offers and Ollie Watkins the subject of a January bid by Arsenal.

Kyle Walker’s club future remains unclear (Getty)

While Trent Alexander-Arnold has signed for Real Madrid, it remains to be seen where his fellow right-back Walker will play next season.

And Tuchel said: “I hope this for everyone. Everyone gets their places back in any club where they play. I just said it to the players. You have now unfortunately a long pause but I expect you to be fit when you start pre-season with your club, I expect you to get your place, wherever you play, and I expect you to be in the right mindset when we start in the World Cup season in September.”

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