England lost 2-3 to Spain at Wembley on Saturday, and Tuchel now has to send largely the same players out for Czechia in Prague on Tuesday, Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday, then the Czechs again at home on 6 October. That is four fixtures in eleven days, under a new format that merges the September and October international breaks into a single window running from 21 September to 6 October.
Speaking to beIN Sports before the Prague trip, Tuchel called four games in one window “brutal”, arguing that the compressed schedule would sap players and raise the injury risk across squads coming straight out of the Premier League and Europe’s other major leagues.
‘It’s madness’
Despite that verdict on the format, Tuchel drew a hard line on rotation when asked whether he would rest players through the run.
“Why would I do this and start giving the players the impression that it’s OK to take a step back or share a half or to rest one match? I would never. It’s madness.”
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Tuchel added that he would not entertain calls from club managers either.
“I don’t take calls from Premier League managers. I never called any national team coach.”
His own squad has already thinned out. Five players, Declan Rice, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford, Kobbie Mainoo and Tino Livramento, withdrew before the window began, and defenders Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly spent Monday on individual programmes at Tottenham’s training ground rather than joining the group, casting doubt on their availability for Prague.
Injuries climbing across the break
The Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo pulled out with an ankle problem picked up in his side’s 2-1 win over Serbia and returned to Liverpool for further tests, where the club will assess him. Similar withdrawals trickled in from other national camps through the week.
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The window is not a one-off. The reason it has been stretched to three weeks and four matches is partly the late finish of the 2026 World Cup on 19 July, which cut into pre-season for club and country. UEFA and FIFA agreed the merged September and October window will stay in place until at least 2030, meaning the tension Tuchel is describing is built into the calendar for years.
England face Czechia at Prague’s Fortuna Arena later on Tuesday. Their trip to Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday will be played behind closed doors after a UEFA sanction on the hosts.
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