Thomas Tuchel hails bench impact as perfect England build team ethos | OneFootball

Substitutes shine against Serbia as Three Lions stars urged to leave their egos behind in pursuit of World Cup glory

Thomas Tuchel hailed the impact of England’s bench against Serbia and said he likes the idea of turning them into a ‘Bomb Squad’.

England won 2-0 at Wembley on Thursday night as they maintained their 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring with a fine first-half volley, though the second goal was a product of substitutes as Phil Foden teed up Eberechi Eze late on.

Eze and Foden caught the eye off the bench, with Jude Bellingham also putting in an impressive performance.

Tuchel was delighted by their impact and likes the idea of having a formidable bench, much like how reigning rugby union world champions South Africa have dubbed their substitutes as the ‘Bomb Squad’.

“I have not named it (the bench) in a different way, but I kind of like it,” said Tuchel. “I like ‘Bomb Squad’ a bit more than ‘Finisher’.

“That’s the nature of this game. The possibility that we go to Albania and finish with the same XI goes to zero, and even more so in a tournament.

“This is not about building a starting XI, it is about building a team. And that means that sometimes… they are all big players in their clubs.

“They are all used to playing. They are all disappointed - everyone, this is normal. But they buy into this idea of building a team and this is what we want. This is what we need.

“There is no other way around it. Only if we are a strong group, who can put the ego behind, who can put the disappointment behind, and then contribute and give the coach a headache [as to] what we do in the next match.

“That’s the only way, and I like it because it is natural for this team. The atmosphere after the matches, during the matches, is the right energy.

“I think everyone is treating everyone with respect. The ones on the pitch know that they can rely on everyone who comes from the bench to finish the game.

“You could see the impact today and it has to stay like this. We just need everybody fully involved, especially mentally, to accept the decision of the matchday - and then to continue.”

England have produced a flawless run in qualifying, with their seven wins all accompanied by clean sheets.

They are the first European side in history to achieve that feat in World Cup qualifying and Tuchel believes bigger nations can take reaching major tournaments for granted.

“I don’t think this is special for this country,” he said. “I think the big nations take it for granted to be in the big tournaments, until they are not. And this, of course, happens.

“So, for me, it is very important that the players know from me, and they know from us, and they get encouraged in what they are doing and they see it in the proof.

“Whether we show it in videos, whether we show them data, and they feel it. They feel the appreciation from the coaches, also from the fans.

“Like I said, I think the work rate and the effort that the team puts in at the moment into any match, be it a friendly match against Wales or today a match that has no impact if we qualify or not, that’s the outstanding criteria and characteristic of the team. I am very, very happy with it.

“That everyone expects it (England qualifying for the World Cup), that includes also us. I also expect us to qualify. I demand it from myself.

“Of course, this is what we expect. If you make it, this can be seen, but that is just the cycle, that is just the nature of it.”