'No regrets, no fear': Tuchel urges England to embrace knockout pressure against Norway

England manager Thomas Tuchel has urged his players to embrace the pressure of the World Cup knockout stages and play with courage when they take on Norway in Saturday's (11 July) quarter-final in Miami.

The German coach said this is the stage where England must stop holding back, rediscover their identity and approach the game with confidence, insisting his side cannot afford to leave the pitch with any regrets.

"This is the exciting part of the tournament," Tuchel said ahead of the match. "Now we need to let go, play to our strengths, stay on the front foot and be brave. It's a World Cup quarter-final, and you don't want to finish it thinking you could have done more. We have to give everything."

Speaking to The Guardian, Tuchel likened England's progress through the tournament to grinding out difficult away victories in the early rounds of the FA Cup, saying the team had done what was necessary to survive but now needed a different mentality.

England's route to the last eight has been far from straightforward. They came from behind to beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2-1 in the Round of 32 before edging Mexico 3-2 in the Round of 16 despite playing with 10 men for part of the match.

Tuchel said those hard-fought victories resembled awkward FA Cup ties in January, where the priority is simply progressing rather than producing polished performances. Having overcome those tests, he believes England are now in a position to express themselves more freely.

The England boss was also asked about the famous "It's Coming Home" chant and said he understands why supporters continue to believe.

"We'd love to make it happen," Tuchel said. "England is the birthplace of football, Wembley is one of the game's greatest stadiums, so of course people dream about bringing the trophy home. But we still have important steps to take before thinking about that."

He urged his players to remain fully focused on Norway rather than looking beyond the quarter-finals.

"Mexico is behind us now," he added. "It's only about Norway. The World Cup is about giving a country hope and something to dream about. We want to take another step towards that."

England will be without Jarell Quansah, who is serving the second match of his suspension, with Djed Spence expected to replace him at right-back.

There was better news on the fitness front as Reece James, Marc Guéhi and Declan Rice all trained with the squad in Miami on Friday following recent injury and illness concerns.

Guéhi, who has been managing a hamstring problem since the victory over Mexico, remains hopeful of keeping his place in central defence, while Dan Burn is on standby if required. 

James, sidelined for the last three matches with a minor hamstring injury, could return to the matchday squad, and Rice is expected to start after recovering from illness earlier in the week.

Jordan Henderson, however, remains unavailable after sustaining a fractured wrist.