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<\/p>\nStuart Pearce believes England and Thomas Tuchel must make the most of their opportunity to make history at the World Cup this summer – as chances to do so don’t come around too often<\/p>\n
Stuart Pearce hopes England can do themselves justice at the World Cup(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Stuart Pearce insists England\u2019s players must seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win the World Cup. And the Three Lions icon says \u201cfantastic\u201d Thomas Tuchel can be the man to lead them to glory in the United States<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n Pearce is remembered as an England great and won 78 caps but only went to one World Cup, where he suffered semi-final heartbreak at Italia 90 when he missed in the shoot-out defeat to West Germany<\/a>.<\/p>\n While people assume Pearce is a tub-thumping Englishman, the former Nottingham Forest<\/a> left-back \u2013 nicknamed Psycho for his hard-man reputation \u2013 insists he believes Tuchel can provide the extra yard to get them over the line.<\/p>\n Pearce, 64, now a media pundit, said: \u201cI\u2019m excited. If I put my mind back as a player, coach or as a manager, you are nervous because you hope there are no injuries to key players.<\/p>\n OPINION<\/p>\n \u201cFrom an individual point of view, I was an international for 12 years but I only went to one World Cup, so they come round quite rarely.<\/p>\n \u201cThe players should be looking forward to this. It\u2019s a fantastic opportunity and even for me, working on the media side, it\u2019s exciting times.<\/p>\n \u201cTuchel comes across really well. People pre-judge me and think maybe I don\u2019t want a foreign manager at the helm of the England team like Sven Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello as well, who I worked with.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think that whoever is the manager, we have to get right behind him. At talkSPORT, we did a long interview with him [Tuchel] last summer and he came across really well, very open. If you ask him a question, he will give you a straight answer. In this day and age, it\u2019s quite rare. Especially in the \u00adposition that he holds.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we get a bit of momentum as we\u2019ve seen over the years, plus if he gets the formula right and the balance right, we\u2019ll be a tough team to beat.\u201d<\/p>\n Pearce represented England at the World Cup and the European Championships(Image: Offside via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Pearce says England are probably among the second clutch of favourites to win the trophy, but they do possess global stars in Harry Kane<\/a> and Jude Bellingham<\/a> and that is at the heart of Pearce\u2019s point: They may not get many more chances.<\/p>\n The Three Lions went close under \u00adGareth Southgate<\/a>. But now Tuchel \u2013 a Champions League-winning elite manager \u2013 has been brought in to win the World Cup.<\/p>\n Pearce added: \u201c France<\/a> and Spain<\/a>, if I had to pick two, that\u2019s who I would call favourites. If you go down the pecking order, we\u2019ll be a tough nut to crack. Put it that way.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m intrigued to see how we do because [Tuchel] was brought in to go a step further than Gareth \u00adSouthgate did and Gareth took us to the latter stages of these tournaments. He\u2019s got a fantastic record that I\u2019m acutely aware of.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all intrigued how far Tuchel can take us. At the helm, maybe experiences do matter, but \u2013 as I found out in my time \u2013 it takes you a major tournament to work out what international football is all about.<\/p>\n Thomas Tuchel and England are out to conquer the world at the World Cup(Image: Bradley Collyer\/PA Wire.)<\/p>\n \u201cYou get a lot of managers come in and they think you can transfer what they\u2019ve done at club level into the international fold.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the international fold is so different. How much to train the players at the end of the season, how much to rest them, all those type of things you get that with experience and Gareth picked up on that with his experience both as a player and as a coach.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it will be an intriguing and a great learning curve for Thomas Tuchel himself. I\u2019m really pleased that his contract has been \u00adextended so there\u2019s no boom and bust mentality after this.<\/p>\n \u201cIf his contract had run out this summer, they might have been turning round and they might have been saying, \u2018Here you go, it didn\u2019t work out, on you go\u2019. But at least you can learn from it and improve for the next tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n Join our new WhatsApp community <\/a>and receive your daily dose of Mirror <\/a>Football <\/a>content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with the Sky Glass ‘designed for football’<\/p>\n This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a> from \u00a34.50<\/p>\n Sky<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0_GettyImages-2280593892jpgy.jpg\"\/)
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