England coach Thomas Tuchel stated that historical events will not be a motivating factor for his team in their World Cup semi-final against Argentina. "We don't speak about the historic events," Tuchel said. "The tension is big enough. We try the opposite and to influence the players in how we want them to behave. It does not help if we engage emotionally."
Tuchel believes the opportunity to reach the final and end a 60-year drought is sufficient motivation for the squad. "We know why we are here, what we want," he said. "We arrive very hungry. We want the next win."
He also suggested that England has not yet reached its peak performance in the tournament but anticipates that a match of this magnitude will bring out the best in his players. "We haven’t peaked yet," Tuchel admitted, "but a match like this will bring the best out of my players."
When asked about his personal routines between matches, Tuchel described needing "a big parking lot, a bike and an ice cream" to help him reconnect with the joy of the game, feeling like a teenager again. He also kept his tactical plans for dealing with Lionel Messi close to his chest, jokingly mentioning the possibility of an "old school man-mark."
Tuchel acknowledged the significance of the World Cup in uniting and exciting a nation, stating that the team's role is to provide energy and allow fans to forget their worries for the duration of the match. "That’s what the World Cup is for," he said. "To excite country, excite the fans, to transmit energy and make people forget their worries, make people's lives better for 90, 120 minutes."
He expressed no sense of burden from the nation's expectations, feeling only the competitive drive of his players. "The two shirts are just iconic. Everyone recognises these shirts straight away, the players straight away. The magnitude of the match is beautiful, I don’t feel it as a burden."
Regarding Argentina's request to wear specific change shirts, Tuchel noted that he does not focus on such details until warm-ups but credited their approach. "You are speaking to someone who does not know the colour of our shirts until we got out for the warm up," he said. "I would have done the same so credit to them. We have our lucky charms but I will not tell you what they are."
Meanwhile, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni addressed the repeated references to the 1982 Falklands War by his team. "It’s a football match," Scaloni stated. "I can't mix things up, out of respect for what happened so many years ago. It was a very sad time in our history, and there isn’t much we can do about it. Mixing the two would be madness."
Scaloni emphasized the need to remember the human cost of conflict. "We criticise that there was war. We have to remember the people who lost their loved ones. But what fault is it of the players? We remember it, of course, but we are mistaken if we mix the two things together."