Jurgen Klinsmann warns Thomas Tuchel: England never believed they could win a major tournament

JAKARTA - Former Germany national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann believes England have an inherent fear of winning a major trophy.

While still managed by Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions twice came close to winning the Euros in 2021 and 2024, but lost in the finals to Italy and Spain.

There were moments in both matches where victory was within their grasp, but Klinsmann said there was an innate instinct to back down.

"There's something in that decisive moment, like the Euro final, that makes them fear themselves. As soon as they approach victory in the final, being right there, there's something that triggers in their brain that says, no, we can't do it."

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"It didn't give them any real confidence to say, let's do it now. They started attacking, then slowed down and started defending instead of finishing the game and scoring again."

"If you want to win the World Cup, you have to take risks. You're not going to win the World Cup by just defending. Maybe that's where England are lacking."

"The last part, if you are 1-0 up, you have to score the second goal and secure the victory," the former Tottenham striker told Men In Blazers Media Network as reported by ESPN.

Klinsmann has coached Germany, the United States, and South Korea - finishing third at the 2006 World Cup with Die Mannschaft.

The situation may be different next summer as they try to win the 2026 edition in North America - with compatriot Thomas Tuchel as coach.

Tuchel has spoken of adding a second star to the shirt and there is great hope for England to compete for the title.

Klinsmann, who helped inflict misery on England while wearing Germany's colours at the 1990 World Cup and the Euro 1996 semi-final, admits at least a change of mindset has taken place.

"This is actually a step forward in England. Now they are actually saying, we are going to get there, we want to win the World Cup."

"When I was still playing, they never believed they would win the World Cup. Now they have achieved a high feat because they have an amazing team," Klinsmann said again.