Tuchel Confident in England's Ability to Surpass the World's Best Teams

London – AFP – German coach Thomas Tuchel remains convinced that the England national team can overcome the world’s best sides, despite his side squandering a second-half lead and losing 3-2 to Spain at Wembley Stadium in London in the opening match of Group C1 of the UEFA Nations League.

The world champions were on the verge of suffering their first defeat in an official match in three and a half years. The Three Lions had taken a 2-1 lead into halftime, but failed to extend their advantage when captain Harry Kane’s penalty strike hit the post.

After the match, Tuchel said: “I think we did everything necessary to beat Spain. Details make the difference at this level. As I said, we committed far too many obvious mistakes, and unfortunately, in the final third of the pitch, they were calmer and more decisive in converting our turnovers into clear chances.”

Tuchel added: “We will continue to work and push this team. We proved at the 2026 World Cup that we are capable of performing in tournaments. We couldn’t prove it through the result, but I believe the way we played was enough to beat them.”

For his part, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said Spain can still improve further, despite extending their unbeaten run to 39 matches.

Commenting on the victory, he said: “What this generation of players is achieving deserves great praise. They are constantly striving to develop and improve. The statistics speak for themselves.” He added: “What Spain is doing is extremely difficult. We will treat the next match against Croatia as if it were our last. These players always want to continue developing.”

In another match in the same group, veteran Luka Modric scored as Croatia defeated hosts Czechia 2-1.

The 41-year-old captain gave Croatia (ranked 47th) the lead, but Czechia equalized seven minutes later through Adam Karabec, before Mario Pašalić snatched the winning goal in the 77th minute.

It was Croatia’s first victory under their new-again coach Slaven Bilić, who succeeded Zlatko Dalić, who resigned after Croatia’s exit from the 2026 World Cup round of 32 at the hands of Portugal.

Croatia shares top spot in the group with Spain on three points each, with Spain holding the advantage in goal difference. Czechia sits last with no points, behind third-placed England, also on goal difference.

In the second round of Group C1, France (three points) travels to face Belgium (three points) in a battle for sole possession of first place, while Turkey (zero points) hosts Italy (zero points).