Thomas Tuchel has told young English players they have to prove their worth after it emerged the number of homegrown footballers playing in the Premier League has plummeted.
Research shows this season that the percentage of Premier League stars eligible to play for England has fallen to 24.3 per cent, an all-time low.
Tuchel’s predecessor as England manager Gareth Southgate was alarmed two years ago when the percentage fell to 33 per cent and warned that future national coaches would be forced to pick players from the Championship.
But Tuchel views it differently and said: ‘It is competition. It is high level sport. The players have to fight their way to compete in the League.
‘It is what it is. We have enough players to compete at a high level and they compete in the toughest League and they have to fight their way.’
When it was put to Tuchel that he must travel to watch Premier League games only to find hardly any English players in action, he didn’t disagree.
‘Yes, sometimes that happens,’ said the former Chelsea manager.
‘It is not frustrating. Of course I would love to see more English players. The more the better.
‘But I come from club football and I know that no-one is holding anyone back.
‘If anyone deserves to play, they will play so they have to fight for their place and I think they will. Quality will always find a way.’
Tuchel gave his players a day off on Friday after the previous evening’s friendly win over Wales at Wembley. England will train at St George’s Park over the weekend and fly to Riga on Monday to face Latvia in World Cup qualifying the following day.
Harry Kane is expected to be fit after resting a foot injury and his replacement Ollie Watkins is thought not to have badly injured his knee after colliding with a goalpost.
Tuchel’s England are on an upward trajectory after a win in Serbia last month and now a straight forward victory against Wales.
Tuchel was critical of the crowd on Thursday night but does not wish to see the FA take England games away from Wembley where lack of atmosphere is often a problem.
‘No, no,’ he said. ‘Don’t make a big thing out of it.
‘I am pretty sure we will play here and have no problem.
‘I felt like the boys and team deserved a bit more of a spark and in the second half they could have helped us.
‘But they should not under-estimate how much it helps sometimes if the game goes a bit flat.
‘It is give and take. This is only for today. I loved the support in Serbia and I am sure we will have top support in Latvia and of course once we arrive at the World Cup it will be outstanding.’
Tuchel is keen to play down the absence of players like Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden from the current squad, even though he admit Bellingham’s replacement in the No 10 position, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, was outstanding against Wales.
‘The door is always open for anyone to jump in,’ Tuchel said.
‘Let’s play a second game and then we decide.
‘The nomination comes and then there is always an open door for top quality, top character. We are in October now so we go step-by-step.
‘Today we can just acknowledge he [Rogers] did amazing, the team did amazing and he buys into that.
‘He is a humble player. He is a physical player. And he is a very talented player, of course.
‘And in a good way. We need more than just 11 at the moment.’
Asked if he could envisage a World Cup starting 11 similar to the one he fielded this week with Bellingham & Co. on the bench, Tuchel refused to get involved.
‘I am sorry but I don’t follow that mindset,’ he said.
‘I am a football coach to coach the team that I nominate. And that is where my focus is.
‘Let’s cross the river when we are at the river. It does not help anyone if we think in bubbles about what can happen and about what cannot happen.
‘We had the last one and a half days to influence the team and I am happy they responded in this way. I am a happy coach tonight. And on Saturday we keep on going.’
