For Marc Guéhi, a momentary flicker of self-doubt was natural. The Crystal Palace centre‑half had excelled for England at Euro 2024, cementing himself as a key selection under the previous manager, and his status remained intact following Lee Carsley’s tenure in the first half of last season.
Enter the new boss, and it is worth remembering that this was the coach who had sanctioned Guéhi’s transfer from Chelsea to Palace in the summer of 2021. Guéhi certainly remembered that. Was Tuchel fancy him? When the new broom brought another defender into the starting XI for his first game in charge, versus Albania at Wembley in March, leaving Guéhi as an unused substitute, it did not look great.
The manager started Guéhi in the next game, against Latvia, also at Wembley, before he was not able to pick him for his next gathering in June, which took in the fixtures against Andorra away and Senegal in Nottingham. Guéhi had suffered an eye injury during his club’s memorable FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
“I’d say it’s natural for every player to almost doubt that,” Guéhi says, looking back at his omission against Albania. “As you’d expect, new manager coming in … it’s unclear what the team’s going to look like, who knows who’s going to feature?”
The thing Guéhi then did was exactly what he always does – remain firmly in the moment, as balanced as possible. Which would benefit him during a dramatic end to the offseason window when the club chairman, Steve Parish, prevented his proposed move to Liverpool.
The next day, Guéhi joined up with England for the games versus Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade and he trained like a demon. Not a soul would have known about any personal doubts. It is hard not to see that camp and those matches as a turning point for Guéhi, the time when he earned Tuchel over. The young defender was selected in both and was especially good in the 5-0 win against Serbia, even adding his first international goal.
The trust works both ways. Tuchel has this ability of drawing players in, of empowering them; it was a primary reasons why the Football Association hired him. “I think what the manager has done is show a lot of belief in each of us,” Guéhi comments. “Any time we receive the opportunity, we aim to display what we can do.”
Belief as the Theme
Faith is the theme – and not only because Guéhi is the child of a church minister and deeply Christian. England face Wales in a exhibition at Wembley on Thursday night before traveling to Riga to face Latvia in their sixth World Cup qualifier next Tuesday and Tuchel has framed it all with his squad selection.
It was, simply, the most stunning demonstration of confidence in the players from the last get‑together, those who had gone to Serbia and sparked Tuchel’s tenure. Each 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 forced to pull out on Monday because of a less serious one.
Tuchel’s Decisions and Team Unity
Tuchel’s choice to overlook the fit-again Jude Bellingham has dominated the conversation – to the extent that the exclusion of Phil Foden, who is also fully recovered, has been made as a bit of a afterthought.
What should not be ignored – and what Tuchel does not want missed – is how he has supported 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 came in for the injured John Stones in September, despite the former now being OK and in the group. Though, Quansah himself was forced to withdraw on Wednesday because of a knock.
Here is how a manager creates 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 recognize them. Bellingham or Loftus‑Cheek? Is that a question? Tuchel has essentially turned it into one for this session – and he sees an upside in the signal he has sent. Reputations will not sway him. Being a supportive colleague will.
Creating a Strong Unit
It was with perfect timing that Steven Gerrard spoke candidly in an discussion with his ex England teammate Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday, disclosing how self-centered and divided their much-hyped talented era team was. The ability was not in doubt; it was the environment that held them back and Tuchel is determined to fix this. He was talking about a “close-knit group” within the team before his initial match.
“There’s any animosity between anybody,” Guéhi says. “We are, as we say when we’re here, Team England. No matter has gone on in the before or what is going on in the campaign, you put that behind. You arrive here, these become your closest allies, your colleagues, the players that you go to war with for however long you’re here.
“The atmosphere is always great when we’re here. The football association, past coaches and the squad themselves, the staff, have done a fantastic job at creating an atmosphere. Then again, it comes down to the players to actually embrace that. In my opinion each member has bought into that brilliantly because I love 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 performance that stirs the Wembley crowd. Those versus Albania and Latvia were solid enough; the wins positive, the first steps on the path to the World Cup next summer. But they were not thrillers. Can the team build on the intensity they showed in Serbia? The last thoughts belong to Guéhi.
“In my case, anxiety is a natural human emotion,” he states about being benched in Albania. “But I was picked in that squad. It means that the boss has chosen me for this opportunity and if I’m playing or not I’ll always back 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 excited and concentrated and assist the people that I can – or improve personally – by striving to be the finest that I can be rather than stressing.”
