For Marc Guéhi, a fleeting spark of uncertainty was natural. The Crystal Palace defender had excelled for England at Euro 2024, establishing himself as a key pick under the previous manager, and his status remained intact after the caretaker coach’s spell in the first half of last season.
Then came Thomas Tuchel, which is important to recall that this was the coach who had sanctioned Guéhi’s transfer from Stamford Bridge to Palace in the offseason of 2021. Guéhi definitely recalled that. Was Tuchel fancy him? When the new broom swept another defender into the starting XI for his debut in charge, versus Albania at Wembley in March, with Guéhi as an uninvolved reserve, it did not look great.
Tuchel selected Guéhi in the next game, versus Latvia, again at Wembley, before he was unable to pick him for his second camp in June, which took in the fixtures versus Andorra away and Senegal in Nottingham. Guéhi had suffered an eye injury during Palace’s historic FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
“In my opinion it’s natural for every player to almost doubt that,” Guéhi states, reflecting on his omission against Albania. “As you’d expect, new manager coming in … who knows what the team’s going to be, it’s unknown who’s going to feature?”
The thing Guéhi then did was exactly what he typically does – remain firmly in the present, as composed as he could be. Which would benefit him during a dramatic end to the offseason window when the Palace chair, Steve Parish, blocked his planned move to Liverpool.
The next day, Guéhi joined up with England for the games versus Andorra at Villa Park and Serbia in Belgrade and he trained like a man possessed. Not a soul would have been aware about any personal doubts. It is hard not to see that camp and those games as a turning point for Guéhi, the time when he won Tuchel around. The 25-year-old was selected in each and was particularly good in the 5-0 win over Serbia, even contributing his maiden strike for his country.
The trust works both ways. Tuchel has this ability of bringing players in, of empowering them; it was a primary reasons why the FA appointed him. “In my view what the gaffer has achieved is show a lot of faith in each of us,” Guéhi says. “Whenever we receive the chance, we want to display what we can do.”
Faith as the Theme
Faith is the theme – and not just because Guéhi is the child of a church minister and deeply Christian. England meet Wales in a exhibition at Wembley on Thursday night before going to Riga to face Latvia in their sixth World Cup qualifier next Tuesday and Tuchel has shaped it all with his squad selection.
It was, quite, the most remarkable show of confidence in the players from the last camp, those who had traveled to Serbia and ignited Tuchel’s tenure. Each of the 24 who are available have been kept – so excluding Tino Livramento or Noni Madueke, who have long-term issues. Or Reece James, who was forced to pull out on Monday because of a less serious one.
Tuchel’s Decisions and Team Unity
Tuchel’s decision to omit the returned Jude Bellingham has dominated the discourse – to the extent that the exclusion of Phil Foden, who is also back to fitness, has been made as a something of a afterthought.
That which must not be overlooked – and what Tuchel hopes won’t be ignored – is how he has supported Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was a last-minute addition in September to replace the injured Adam Wharton, despite Loftus-Cheek having lost his place in Milan’s Serie A side. Or how he retained Jarell Quansah, who came in for the injured John Stones in September, despite the latter now being OK and in the group. Though, Quansah himself was forced to withdraw on Wednesday because of a knee injury.
Here is how a coach builds a meritocracy, how he builds bonds. Tuchel loved the unit behind the team in Serbia, the unheralded contributors on the bench, and he aimed to recognize them. Bellingham or Loftus‑Cheek? Is that a debate? Tuchel has essentially turned it into one for this session – and he believes in an upside in the signal he has delivered. Past accolades will not influence him. Being a good teammate will.
Creating a Strong Unit
Coinciding with perfect timing that Steven Gerrard spoke candidly in an interview with his former England teammate Rio Ferdinand on Tuesday, disclosing how egotistical and divided their so-called talented era team was. The ability was not in question; it was the atmosphere that held them back and Tuchel is determined to fix this. He was talking about a “brotherhood” within the squad before his initial match.
“There’s any tension between anybody,” Guéhi says. “We are, as we say when we’re here, Team England. Whatever has gone on in the past or whatever is occurring in the season, you leave that aside. You arrive here, these become your closest allies, your colleagues, the players that you go to war with for however long you’re here.
“The atmosphere is consistently positive when we’re here. The FA, previous managers and the players themselves, the backroom team, have done a fantastic role at fostering an spirit. Additionally, it depends on the players to actually buy into that. In my opinion each member has accepted that brilliantly because I enjoy immensely being here and I am sure the others of the players do, too.”
Future Focus
What Tuchel expects against Wales is a showing that stirs the Wembley crowd. Those versus Albania and Latvia were solid enough; the wins positive, the first steps on the road to the World Cup next summer. But they were not pulse‑quickeners. Can the team build on the intensity they showed in Serbia? The final words belong to Guéhi.
“For me, worrying is a normal human emotion,” he states about being benched in Albania. “But I was selected in that group. It signifies that the manager has chosen me for this opportunity and if I’m playing or not I’ll always support the team.
“So personally, fretting can be a futile effort. You don’t have many moments on this planet. I’d rather be positive and concentrated and assist the teammates that I can – or improve personally – by being the finest that I can be rather than worrying.”
