Scholes makes huge England prediction after Tuchel’s perfect World Cup qualifying campaign | OneFootball

Former England international Paul Scholes reckons the Three Lions will win the World Cup under Thomas Tuchel in the summer.

The Three Lions beat Albania 2-0 on Sunday to record a perfect record of eight wins from eight matches in their World Cup qualifying campaign, while Tuchel’s side scored 22 goals and conceded zero.

England scored twice through Harry Kane in the last 16 minutes to take all three points in Albania with loads of positives heading into the World Cup.

And now former England and Manchester United midfielder Scholes has labelled the Three Lions a “great team” and reckons they will win their first World Cup since 1966 under Tuchel.

Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast: “I really think they will win the World Cup, I do honestly. I think they’re a great team.

“Now look, they’ve got to still beat the teams they probably don’t expect to beat, which they haven’t done, but I think the manager is brilliant as well. I think this manager is the one that could get them over the line.

“I know a lot of people are saying about ‘it’s in America, it’s going to be boiling’, but so what? We have like 65, 70 per cent possession every time that team.

“If it was our team (back when Scholes was playing) with 30, 40 per cent possession, no chance in America, but this team they keep the ball all day long.

“Gareth (Southgate) did a great job to bring the squad together, the trouble he had then was going to that next level and actually winning something, beating one of them better teams.

“Now, we’ve got a manager who is ruthless and he doesn’t care. It’s all about his team, it’s not about individuals. I love the way he’s going about it.”

After having reservations about England not appointing a British coach, Nicky Butt has been impressed by Tuchel’s start to life as Three Lions coach.

Butt added: “As an outsider looking in, you know who is the boss, and I think that’s a massive thing.

“When you’ve got so many big players with big egos, you have to be the manager, you have to be the boss, you have to be the one that tells them off and puts them in their place. And when they deserve an arm around the shoulder and a well done, he gives them that as well.

“For me, the only thing I don’t like is that it’s not a British coach but that’s just me – other people might no believe that – but what he is doing is giving them a real chance of togetherness and feeling like they are loved at that England side.”

The German will now have to wait until March to work with his side again when they play two friendlies to warm up for the main event in the summer in North America.

On not seeing his players for a while, Tuchel said: “It hurts me honestly, I told the players, I have to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year now.

“I cannot believe it and in my heart, everything in me wants to be with you guys on Wednesday again on the sidelines and fight and Saturday again and they sucked me into all of this. This is just amazing. It will be very very tough for me to not have a match until March.

“They have been outstanding. The level of detail cannot always be right. But the commitment to accept mistakes, the commitment after ball losses … to put the head down, to just run; run it off.

“This has been outstanding through the last camps and I think you can feel it. This is what I talked about and I hope that somehow we make it so that you watch this team and you feel like, ‘Wow. They really mean it.’

“It is a privilege to work with these players because I love their character and their attitude and how they are shaped so this I knew and today I could say everything played out perfectly because from the first camp, I could feel the energy.

“Then we had a little dip in summer but then the way we reacted and built from there in the three camps was just outstanding so it is a privilege every day so full credit to the players for their commitment and it makes me of course very happy and very proud.”