For Marc Guéhi, a momentary spark of self-doubt was understandable. The Crystal Palace centre‑half had shone for England at Euro 2024, establishing himself as a key pick under Gareth Southgate, and his status stayed secure following the caretaker coach’s spell in the initial part of last season.
Then came the new boss, and it is worth remembering that this was the manager who had sanctioned Guéhi’s transfer from Chelsea to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021. Guéhi definitely remembered that. Was Tuchel fancy him? When the fresh leadership brought another defender into the lineup for his first game in charge, versus Albania at Wembley in March, leaving Guéhi as an uninvolved reserve, it did not look great.
The manager started Guéhi in the next game, against Latvia, also at Wembley, before he was unable to select him for his second camp in June, which took in the matches versus Andorra away and Senegal in Nottingham. Guéhi had sustained an eye injury during Palace’s memorable FA Cup final win over Manchester City.
“In my opinion it’s normal for any footballer to practically doubt that,” Guéhi says, looking back at his omission against Albania. “As you’d expect, fresh coach coming in … it’s unclear what the team’s going to be, who knows who’s going to feature?”
The thing Guéhi then did was what he always does – stay completely in the moment, as composed as he could be. This approach would benefit him during a dramatic end to the summer transfer window when the Palace chair, Steve Parish, blocked his planned move to Liverpool.
The following day, Guéhi joined up with England for the matches against Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade and he trained like a man possessed. Nobody would have been aware about any personal doubts. It is difficult not to see that camp and those games as a pivotal moment for Guéhi, the period when he earned Tuchel over. The 25-year-old was selected in both and was particularly good in the five-nil win against Serbia, even adding his first international goal.
The faith cuts both ways. Tuchel has this knack of drawing players in, of empowering them; it was one of the main reasons why the FA appointed him. “In my view what the gaffer has done is show a lot of faith in every single one of us,” Guéhi comments. “Whenever we receive the opportunity, we aim to show what we can do.”
Faith as the Central Idea
Faith is the theme – and not just because Guéhi is the son of a church minister and devoutly Christian. England meet Wales in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday night before going to Riga to play Latvia in their next World Cup qualifier next Tuesday and Tuchel has framed it all with his squad selection.
It was, simply, the most stunning show of confidence in the players from the previous get‑together, those who had gone to Serbia and sparked Tuchel’s tenure. Each of the 24 who are fit have been retained – so excluding Tino Livramento or Noni Madueke, who have long-term issues. Or Reece James, who was forced to withdraw on Monday because of a less serious one.
Tuchel’s Decisions and Team Unity
His choice to overlook the returned Jude Bellingham has dominated the discourse – to the extent that the exclusion of Phil Foden, who is also fully recovered, has been rendered as a bit of a afterthought.
That which must not be ignored – and what Tuchel does not want missed – is how he has stood by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was a last-minute addition in September to replace the injured Adam Wharton, despite Loftus-Cheek having surrendered his place in Milan’s Serie A side. Or how he kept Jarell Quansah, who stepped up for the unavailable John Stones in September, despite the latter now being OK and in the squad. However, Quansah himself was compelled to exit on Wednesday because of a knock.
Here is how a coach builds a performance-based culture, how he forges bonds. Tuchel admired the unit supporting the team in Serbia, the unheralded contributors on the sidelines, and he wanted to reward them. Bellingham or Loftus‑Cheek? Is that a debate? Tuchel has essentially turned it into one for this session – and he sees an positive in the message he has delivered. Reputations will not influence him. Being a good teammate will.
Building a Strong Unit
It was with perfect timing that Steven Gerrard opened up in an interview with his ex England colleague Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday, revealing how self-centered and divided their so-called talented era team was. The talent was not in question; it was the atmosphere that held them back and Tuchel is set to fix this. He was speaking about a “close-knit group” within the team before his first game.
“There’s any tension between anybody,” Guéhi says. “We are, as we put it when we’re here, the England squad. Whatever has happened in the before or what is going on in the campaign, you put that behind. You arrive here, these become your closest allies, your teammates, the players that you battle with for as long as you’re here.
“The atmosphere is consistently positive when we’re here. The FA, previous managers and the squad themselves, the backroom team, have done a excellent job at fostering an atmosphere. Additionally, it depends on the players to actually embrace that. In my opinion each member has bought into that brilliantly because I enjoy so much being here and I am sure the others of the lads do, too.”
Future Focus
That which Tuchel wants against Wales is a showing that excites the Wembley crowd. Those versus Albania and Latvia were solid sufficient; the wins welcome, the first steps on the road to the World Cup next year. But they were not pulse‑quickeners. Can the side build on the intensity they showed in Serbia? The final words go to Guéhi.
“For me, worrying is a normal human emotion,” he states about not playing in Albania. “But I was selected in that group. It signifies that the boss has opted for me for this opportunity and whether I’m starting or not I’ll always support the team.
“So for me, fretting can be a waste of time. You only get so many days on this planet. I prefer to be positive and concentrated and help the people that I can – or improve personally – by striving to be the best that I can be rather than worrying.”
