Before Thomas Tuchel's first game in charge of England, back in March 2025, he said he felt the team had been too full of "fear" to go and win Euro 2024. He said his mission was to try to remove that trepidation.Â
"We play with the hunger and the joy to win, not with the fear to lose," he said.
Everything he has done in the US since this England squad arrived here 10 days ago seems to have been with that original mission statement in mind.
He has been repeatedly asked whether he thinks England can win this World Cup. He has repeatedly chosen to bat the suggestion away.
In his latest news conference, he was questioned by journalists from Portugal, Brazil and Spain, and to each of them, with a big grin on his face, he pointedly said that he felt each of those nations is a challenger to be the champion in 2026.
But he also said that while England are not among the favourites, they are among the "challengers who want to go all the way".
He went on to say much depends on luck, and that England should not get too ahead of themselves thinking about trying to win the World Cup, when the tournament hasn't even started yet. When he added that there must be hard work and dedication, taking each step in turn, it was as if he was addressing his players directly.
Everything Tuchel does or says he treats as a subliminal message to his squad.
The England boss revealed the players' families and friends have been invited into the base for a big barbecue all together; that the players have been given a lot of time off to enjoy their "holiday"; that they've been free to pop out to restaurants in Miami in the evening.
Marc Guehi told us he had been to the beach to chill out and met up with family in local coffee shops.
Never before have I known England's players to be given so much free time, and so much freedom, in the build-up to a major tournament.
The fact that there have been no pictures or social media posts of England's players out and about in Florida tells you much about how they have behaved, but also about the appetite and knowledge of soccer in these parts.
That relaxed approach to team discipline is likely to stiffen once England are done with this final friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando. But it is a startling contrast that, while English cricket is imploding with a culture of questionable self-discipline, Tuchel is showing the ultimate respect to his players, treating them like adults, who must take responsibility for themselves.
The players are unlikely to lapse, however, because they know that their behaviour is constantly being monitored by the German coach and his staff, and that it could well have an impact on whether they get the nod to play at this World Cup.
It is clearly a deliberate ploy from Tuchel to try to make the players as relaxed as possible and remove any negative thoughts of pressure before a World Cup ball has been kicked.
The nerves and expectation will come, he says, inevitably and organically, once the squad fly out to their substantive tournament base in Kansas City on Saturday, and once the World Cup matches start appearing on the big TV in camp. The head coach sees it as a key part of his role to remove as much of the pressure as possible before it builds.
It's interesting that Tuchel's first speech to the players from 15 months ago - rousing and Churchillian as it was - is once again doing the rounds on social media before this World Cup. He talked then of England's "Everest" and the mountain they have to climb if they are to deliver the first men's major trophy in 60 years. Many have been fooled into thinking that was a more recent speech, designed to motivate the players right now.
It wasn't. It was Tuchel setting out his stall and his ambition right at the start of his journey with these players. He doesn't need to remind them right now that they have a chance. A real chance of putting "a second star on the shirt". He doesn't want to instill any "fear".
So it's "contenders" - yes. "Favourites" - no. Expect that mantra to continue throughout the tournament.
