In the case of Marc Guéhi, a fleeting flicker of self-doubt was natural. The Crystal Palace centre‑half had excelled for England at Euro 2024, establishing himself as a key selection under Gareth Southgate, and his standing remained intact following the caretaker coach’s spell in the initial part of last season.
Enter Thomas Tuchel, and it is worth remembering that this was the coach who had approved Guéhi’s transfer from Stamford Bridge to Crystal Palace in the offseason of 2021. Guéhi definitely remembered that. Was Tuchel fancy him? When the fresh leadership swept Dan Burn into the lineup for his first game in charge, against Albania at Wembley in March, with Guéhi as an uninvolved reserve, it wasn’t promising.
Tuchel started Guéhi in the following game, against Latvia, again at Wembley, before he was not able to select him for his next gathering in June, which included the fixtures versus Andorra away and Senegal in Nottingham. Guéhi had sustained an facial knock during his club’s historic FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
“I’d say it’s natural for every player to practically doubt that,” Guéhi states, reflecting on his omission from Albania. “As you’d expect, new manager coming in … it’s unclear what the team’s going to be, who knows who is going to play?”
What Guéhi then did was what he always does – stay firmly in the moment, as balanced as possible. This approach would serve him well during a hectic end to the summer transfer window when the Palace chair, Steve Parish, prevented his proposed transfer to Liverpool.
The next day, Guéhi joined up with England for the matches against Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade and he trained like a demon. Nobody would have known about any internal turmoil. It is hard not to see that gathering and those games as a pivotal moment for Guéhi, the period when he won Tuchel around. The young defender was selected in each and was particularly good in the five-nil win against Serbia, even contributing his maiden strike for his country.
The trust cuts both ways. Tuchel has this knack of drawing players in, of empowering them; it was one of the main reasons why the FA hired him. “In my view what the manager has achieved is demonstrate a lot of belief in every single one of us,” Guéhi says. “Whenever we receive the opportunity, we want to display what we can do.”
Belief as the Theme
Trust is the focus – and not only because Guéhi is the child of a church minister and devoutly Christian. England face Wales in a exhibition at Wembley on Thursday night before traveling to Riga to face Latvia in their sixth World Cup qualifying tie next Tuesday and Tuchel has framed it all with his squad selection.
It was, quite, the most stunning show of support in the players from the last get‑together, those who had traveled to Serbia and sparked Tuchel’s reign. Every one of the 24 who are fit have been kept – so excluding Tino Livramento or Noni Madueke, who have serious injuries. Or Reece James, who was obliged to pull out on Monday because of a more minor one.
Tuchel’s Choices and Team Dynamics
His decision to omit the fit-again Jude Bellingham has led the conversation – to the extent that the exclusion of Phil Foden, who is also back to fitness, has been made as a something of a footnote.
What should not be overlooked – and what Tuchel does not want ignored – is how he has stood by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was a late call-up in September to cover for the hurt Adam Wharton, even though Loftus-Cheek having surrendered his spot in Milan’s Serie A side. Or how he kept Jarell Quansah, who stepped up for the unavailable John Stones in September, despite the former now being OK and in the squad. However, Quansah himself was compelled to withdraw on Wednesday because of a knock.
This is how a manager builds a performance-based culture, how he forges connections. Tuchel admired the unit behind the team in Serbia, the unheralded contributors on the bench, and he aimed to reward them. Bellingham or Loftus‑Cheek? Is that a debate? Tuchel has effectively turned it into one for this session – and he believes in an upside in the message he has delivered. Past accolades will not influence him. Being a good teammate will.
Building a Strong Unit
Coinciding with perfect timing that Steven Gerrard opened up in an interview with his former England teammate Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday, disclosing how self-centered and divided their much-hyped talented era team was. The ability was not in question; it was the environment that held them back and Tuchel is set to fix this. He was talking about a “brotherhood” within the squad before his initial match.
“There’s any animosity between anyone,” Guéhi explains. “We are, as we put it when we’re here, the England squad. Whatever has gone on in the before or whatever is occurring in the campaign, you put that aside. You come here, these are your best friends, your colleagues, the players that you battle with for as long as you’re here.
“The atmosphere is always great when we’re here. The FA, previous managers and the squad themselves, the staff, have done a excellent role at creating an atmosphere. Additionally, it depends on the players to actually buy into that. In my opinion every single person has bought into that superbly because I love so much being here and I know the others of the lads feel the same, too.”
Future Focus
What Tuchel wants versus Wales is a showing that stirs the Wembley crowd. Those against Albania and Latvia were steady enough; the victories positive, the first steps on the road to the World Cup next summer. But they were not thrillers. Can the side continue the intensity they showed in Serbia? The last thoughts belong to Guéhi.
“For me, worrying is a normal human emotion,” he states about being benched against Albania. “But I was selected in that group. It means that the boss has chosen me for this opportunity and whether I’m starting or not I’ll always support the team.
“So for me, fretting can be a futile effort. You only get so many days on this planet. I’d rather be excited and concentrated and assist the teammates that I can – or improve personally – by being the finest that I can be rather than worrying.”
