In the case of Marc Guéhi, a momentary flicker of uncertainty was natural. The Crystal Palace centre‑half had shone for England at Euro 2024, establishing himself as a key pick under Gareth Southgate, and his standing stayed intact following Lee Carsley’s spell in the first half of last season.
Enter Thomas Tuchel, and it is important to recall that this was the coach who had sanctioned Guéhi’s transfer from Chelsea to Palace in the offseason of 2021. Guéhi definitely recalled that. Was Tuchel rate him? When the new broom swept another defender into the lineup for his first game in charge, against Albania at Wembley in March, leaving Guéhi as an unused substitute, it did not look promising.
The manager selected Guéhi in the following game, versus Latvia, also at Wembley, before he was not able to select him for his next gathering in June, which took in the fixtures versus Andorra away and Senegal in Nottingham. Guéhi had sustained an facial knock during Palace’s memorable FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
“In my opinion it’s normal for any footballer to almost doubt that,” Guéhi states, looking back at his omission from Albania. “As you’d expect, fresh coach coming in … it’s unclear what the squad’s going to look like, it’s unknown who’s going to feature?”
What Guéhi did next was exactly what he always does – remain completely in the moment, as balanced as he could be. Which would benefit him during a dramatic end to the offseason window when the club chairman, Steve Parish, prevented his proposed transfer to Liverpool.
The following day, Guéhi reported with England for the games against Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade and he trained like a man possessed. Not a soul would have known about any personal doubts. It is difficult not to see that camp and those matches as a turning point for Guéhi, the period when he earned Tuchel over. The 25-year-old started in both and was particularly impressive in the five-nil win over Serbia, even contributing his first international goal.
The trust works both ways. Tuchel has this knack of bringing players in, of empowering them; it was a primary reasons why the Football Association hired him. “I think what the gaffer has achieved is show a lot of belief in every single one of us,” Guéhi comments. “Whenever we receive the chance, we want to display what we can do.”
Belief as the Central Idea
Faith is the focus – and not only because Guéhi is the child of a church minister and deeply Christian. England meet Wales in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday night before going to Riga to face Latvia in their next World Cup qualifier next Tuesday and Tuchel has shaped it all with his player choices.
It was, quite, the most stunning demonstration of support in the players from the previous camp, those who had gone to Serbia and ignited Tuchel’s reign. Each of the 24 who are available have been kept – so not Tino Livramento or Noni Madueke, who have long-term issues. Or Reece James, who was forced to pull out on Monday because of a more minor one.
Tuchel’s Decisions and Squad Dynamics
His decision to omit the returned Jude Bellingham has dominated the discourse – to the point that the exclusion of Phil Foden, who is also fully recovered, has been rendered as a bit of a afterthought.
What must not be ignored – and what Tuchel hopes won’t be missed – is how he has stood by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was a late call-up in September to replace the injured Adam Wharton, despite Loftus-Cheek having lost his spot in Milan’s Serie A side. Or how he retained Jarell Quansah, who stepped up for the injured John Stones in September, although the latter now being fit and in the group. However, Quansah himself was forced to exit on Wednesday because of a knee injury.
This is how a manager builds a performance-based culture, how he builds connections. Tuchel admired the team behind the team in Serbia, the unheralded contributors on the sidelines, and he aimed to reward them. Bellingham or Loftus‑Cheek? Is that a question? Tuchel has essentially turned it into one for this session – and he sees an upside in the signal he has sent. Past accolades will not influence him. Being a good teammate will.
Creating a Strong Unit
It was with perfect timing that Steven Gerrard opened up in an interview with his ex England colleague Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday, disclosing how self-centered and clique-ridden their much-hyped talented era team was. The talent was not in doubt; it was the atmosphere that limited them and Tuchel is determined to fix this. He was speaking about a “brotherhood” within the team before his initial match.
“There isn’t any animosity between anybody,” Guéhi explains. “We are, as we say when we’re here, Team England. No matter has happened in the past or whatever is occurring in the campaign, you put that aside. You come here, these are your closest allies, your colleagues, the players that you go to war with for however long you’re here.
“The environment is always positive when we’re here. The FA, previous managers and the players themselves, the backroom team, have performed a excellent job at creating an spirit. Additionally, it comes down to the individuals to truly embrace that. In my opinion every single person has bought into that superbly because I love so much being here and I know the rest of the players feel the same, too.”
Future Focus
What Tuchel expects versus Wales is a showing that stirs the Wembley fans. Those versus Albania and Latvia were solid sufficient; the victories positive, the initial progress on the road to the World Cup next summer. But they were not thrillers. Will the side continue the cut and thrust they showed in Serbia? The last thoughts go to Guéhi.
“For me, anxiety is a natural human emotion,” he states about being benched in Albania. “But I was picked in that squad. It means that the boss has chosen me for this opportunity and if I’m playing or not I’ll still back the team.
“So for me, worrying can be a futile effort. You only get so many moments on this earth. I prefer to be excited and focused and assist the teammates that I can – or improve personally – by striving to be the best that I can be rather than worrying.”
