Manchester City's crisis rocks the England camp: Tuchel breaks his silence and settles his players' fate
The earthquake that struck Manchester City didn't stay within the walls of the Etihad Stadium. It rippled all the way into the England camp, becoming the main talking point among the players just days before a decisive encounter.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Manchester City's conviction for serious financial breaches is the talk of the hour inside the Three Lions' camp, on the eve of their UEFA Nations League clash with Croatia.
An independent commission delivered a shocking ruling, convicting City on all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial fair play regulations across nine full seasons from 2009-2010 to 2017-2018. The panel also found the club guilty on three of four charges relating to a failure to cooperate with investigators.
City denied every charge throughout the years of investigation and lodged an official appeal last Friday, hoping to overturn the ruling and dodge penalties that could run to a points deduction or even relegation. The mood inside the national team, meanwhile, has turned tense.
The timing could hardly be more awkward. England count a number of City players among their ranks, most notably midfielder Elliot Anderson and defender Marc Guehi, while left-back Nico O'Reilly was forced to leave the camp and return to his club with injury.
Asked by reporters whether the players were discussing the ruling, Tuchel told "Reuters" on Friday: "I think so. We had some rest between the matches, and it's an important topic. Everyone is talking about it, so there is no need for another opinion, I'm glad I'm not that opinion, no one needs my limited information on this subject."
The German added: "Of course, the players talk about it, the City players talk about it, and we talk with them, but only for a brief period, they are ready for the match tomorrow. But of course, it's an important topic within the squad."
Then came the most sensitive question of all: would he keep calling up Manchester City players if the club were relegated from the Premier League? Tuchel didn't flinch.
His answer was blunt: "There is always a possibility, I will always try to pick the best squad for the camp, for the occasion, and for the tournament, I will never rule that out just because they are not playing in the first division in their country, we have to study each case individually."
On the pitch, England sit second in Group Three with three points from two matches. A thrilling 3-2 defeat to Spain at Wembley was followed by a convincing 2-0 win over the Czech Republic last Tuesday.
Croatia host the Three Lions in the coastal city of Rijeka, where the match will be played behind closed doors. The empty stands are a punishment for the rioting involving Croatia's fans during the UEFA Nations League quarter-final against France in March 2025.
Tuchel signed off with an update on his squad's physical condition: "Having three days of rest between the matches made a big difference for us, as it enabled us to take care of the high-performance players such as Anderson and Gordon."
He confirmed: "All the players attended training today except O'Reilly, who was forced to leave the camp to receive treatment and depart as quickly as possible. The pain was severe and he was unable to take part in the match, and all the other players started training today and finished it at a high level."
