60년의 갈증과 도난당한 전술판: 잉글랜드 축구, 북중미 월드컵의 불길한 전조 > 뉴스

The point of this incident is that it went beyond a simple theft and left a fatal hole in the England national team's meticulous preparation process. According to police in Kansas City, USA, a number of key pieces of equipment went missing from a transport vehicle while the England national team was heading to its final base camp after completing pre-camp. This includes custom football boots that perfectly fit Harry Kane's feet, as well as a key whiteboard that manager Thomas Tuchel uses to plan and dictate tactics. With the loss of conditioning equipment to help players recover from fatigue, the team's routine as they prepare for their first group match against Croatia, which is just a few days away, has been completely disrupted. The English Football Association immediately began assessing the extent of the damage, but the lack of equipment directly related to performance is likely to have a negative impact on the players' psychological stability.

The gaze on coach Thomas Tuchel is also one of the main points to watch in this World Cup. Coach Tuchel, who built a reputation at Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the past, was selected as the right person to end England's 60-year absence, but in the process, he was at the center of attention several times due to friction with the players and sharp battles with the media. In particular, his outspoken criticism and tactical stubbornness towards certain players have made him an 'issue maker', and he has recently sent a strong warning to key player Jude Bellingham, putting the atmosphere within the team into a state of tension. This is interpreted as a pain in the process of trying to transplant Tuchel's philosophy to the national team, going beyond simple discipline. It remains to be seen whether Coach Tuchel's dogmatic leadership on the World Cup stage, where team cohesion is paramount, will be an opportunity for a positive rebound, or whether it will become the seed of discord within the team.

Meanwhile, this competition is also a huge testing ground to see whether the ‘jinx of foreign coaches being irrelevant’ can be broken. The statistic that a team led by a foreign coach has never won the trophy since the World Cup began in 1930 has been considered a strong taboo in the soccer world. However, in this North and Central America World Cup, 26 of the 48 participating countries, more than half, appointed foreign coaches, recording the highest proportion ever. Not only England's coach Tuchel, but also world-famous players such as Brazil's Carlo Ancelotti and Portugal's Roberto Martinez are challenging this jinx. FIFA also estimates that this tournament is the one with the highest chance of breaking this 96-year-old record, so the attention of soccer fans around the world is focused on their actions.

But there is a huge wall to overcome between statistics and reality. During the last World Cup in Qatar, many strong teams appointed foreign coaches, but very few achieved significant results. In addition, the fact that strong contenders for the title, such as Argentina, Spain, and France, which currently occupy the top ranks of the FIFA rankings, are all under the direction of coaches from their own countries puts considerable pressure on foreign coaches. England also has the psychological burden of having to overcome the pain of repeated second-place finishes and semi-final exits in recent major tournaments, despite hiring a talented strategist named Coach Tuchel. The unfortunate start of equipment theft, the label of a foreign manager, and the heavy task of resolving 60 years of resentment are weighing on the shoulders of the England national team.