Thomas Tuchel: England's 'hunger and grit' crucial against Norway in World Cup quarter-final

The England head coach, taking charge of a national team for the first time, is attempting to end the country's 60-year wait for a major trophy after building on the foundations laid by Gareth Southgate.

Southgate guided England to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, the 2022 quarter-finals and consecutive European Championship finals, with Tuchel aiming to take the current squad one step further.

England secured their place in the last eight after a dramatic 3-2 victory over co-hosts Mexico in the round of 16 despite finishing the contest with 10 men. Jude Bellingham scored twice, while Harry Kane converted a penalty as England produced a determined team display to progress.

"I'm not sure if I tried to change the identity," Tuchel explained. "I try to support the players and build a platform for them to show their qualities.

"I think you see, especially in this World Cup, in our World Cup campaign, that we can play front foot football, we can be aggressive, we like to be active.

"And of course, I think that mentality, togetherness, competitiveness, having the bite and the hunger and the grit is a part of English football, it's a part of the Premier League.

"You cannot count it in passes and in attacks and ball possession, but these things matter in football.

"This team and these players have it to the highest level. That's basically it."

Norway, meanwhile, reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time by upsetting Brazil 2-1. Erling Haaland netted both goals, opening with a header before calmly placing his second into the corner.

Neymar converted a penalty in the 100th minute, but Brazil's late reply was not enough to prevent Norway from maintaining their unbeaten record against the South Americans.

England have overcome disruption to kick-off arrangements and ongoing selection issues during the tournament, but face a concerning trend against European opposition. Five of their last six World Cup knockout exits, including each of the previous three, have come against teams from Europe. 

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