Television presenter Richard Keys aimed a dig at England after Thomas Tuchel claimed that his players can “focus better” if they wear a specific type of footwear.
England head into Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Serbia at Wembley knowing they have already secured their spot at the 2026 World Cup finals in North America.
Nonetheless, several squad hopefuls will be vying to impress head coach Tuchel to book their seat on the plane ahead of the tournament.
Bournemouth’s Alex Scott received his first senior men’s international call-up last week, while the likes of Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, and Trent Alexander-Arnold did not make the cut for the fixtures against Serbia and Albania.
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Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden regained their places in the Three Lions’ squad, having been omitted from the October list.
Despite already being through to the tournament, Tuchel will, no doubt, do everything possible to prepare his side and gain so-called ‘one-per-cent advantages’ in the short time between now and next summer.
A recent report explained how the England squad were walking around the national team's training facilities wearing innovative shoes dubbed “the pregame mule”, which supposedly enhances the player wearing them with “mind-altering science”.
The Times spoke to the England boss, who claimed that the players told him “they can focus better” while wearing the shoes in question, with the German telling the squad that “it’s important you wear them for my meetings”.
According to Nike’s UK website, the shoes retail at £79.99. As per the product’s description, its large outsole nodes push against the wearer’s foot, which engages sensory brain areas, helping one connect with their surroundings.
The technology consists of 22 “individually articulated nodes,” which Nike claims are “scientifically shown to activate sensory areas” of the brain.
However, not everyone approves, with TV presenter Keys referring to the shoes as “£80 crocs” on X.
Tuchel is a regular observer of meditation, something which he tries to do twice a day while also taking an interest in breathwork.
“I did it [breathwork] with the whole team at Dortmund, but football became more individual. Players have their support system around them, a lot of them invest in meditation and breath work and Pilates, visualisation and yoga,” Tuchel explained.
The former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich boss has won seven of his eight matches in charge of the Three Lions, with the one loss against Senegal at the City Ground being the only hiccup.
Between now and the opening ceremony of the World Cup, there are 210 days.
During this period, England have the luxury of playing friendlies in March while other nations will compete to qualify via play-off rounds.
Tuchel’s objective is simple: win the World Cup.
Can he do this? Possibly.
Are England good enough? Personnel-wise, yes, but so are the likes of France and Spain. It certainly won’t be easy.
One thing is for sure, though, there will be several big selection decisions for Tuchel to make come next summer.
Topics: England, Thomas Tuchel, Richard Keys, Football, Nike
Luke Davies