Revealed: The box of tricks that made Thomas Tuchel king of the knockouts - how his methods spooked Pep Guardiola, the secret to handling pressure and why breathing exercises, maths and embarrassing T-shirts will win penalty shootouts for England

Published: 02:00, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 02:00, 1 July 2026 There was a Champions League final on the horizon and Manchester City had already won the Premier League. Chelsea arrived in town three weeks before the two sides were destined to meet again in Porto. Although City were overwhelming favourites to finally lift Europe's treasured prize in 2021, one man was unsettling Guardiola. Thomas Tuchel, appointed in the January with Chelsea flailing, had nudged them towards the top four and his tactical mind was so sharp, so acute, that City's Einstein ripped up his plans for the league match. While watching Chelsea deal with Real Madrid in a semi-final four days before their encounter at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola vowed to severely alter his team selection. He refused to give Tuchel a shred of tactical information to seize upon, making nine changes and playing differently. Effectively, he threw away any advantage on the day, saving it for the Champions League showpiece. City lost 2-1, no massive deal. Or so they thought. Tuchel, a man who once shared six-hour meal with Guardiola, moving salt and pepper pots around while the pair coached in the Bundesliga, has this intelligence that alarms the very best in class, forces them to second guess themselves. History tells us that City's unpredictable team selections in the final weeks of that season – largely guarding against offering Tuchel any clues – didn't help them in Porto. Guardiola was lampooned for not picking either Rodri or Fernandinho there, although that decision wasn't the major contributing factor in the 1-0 defeat. Thomas Tuchel believes England will come alive in the knockouts at the World Cup Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger saw Tuchel come in and win an improbable Champions League The lack of rhythm in the team undoubtedly was, so much so that key players had communicated reservations to management beforehand. Tuchel, by just being Tuchel, more than played his part in that. In the Chelsea camp, he spent that week telling the squad to get under the skin of City, wanting to act as a 'stone in their shoe'. City were so panicked and rushed that they didn't stop to take the shoe off and shake the stone out. Tuchel had made him and them overly wary. Guardiola was beaten by the 52-year-old three times towards the end of that season, the other a bland FA Cup semi-final, again 1-0. And on that balmy night in Portugal, Tuchel won the phony tactical cat-and-mouse war, etched into Chelsea legend months just four months after landing. The scale of the achievement was summed up by Antonio Rudiger and match-winner Kai Havertz. When asked if they felt Chelsea were in any position to win the Champions League when the German was appointed, both bluntly replied: 'No.' That is the power of the man and this is what England and the FA have at their disposal when their World Cup knockout journey begins against DR Congo in Atlanta. Aside from Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, Tuchel's aura is their most potent weapon. He can intellectually intimidate and has a strong cup record, Fabio Capello the only coach to have taken the England job with a more congested trophy cabinet. That has more of a bearing on his ability to deliver a second star than superstitions or lucky charms gifted by his daughters for this tournament. 'I just love it,' Tuchel said when asked about knockout ties. 'It gives an extra edge. The first rounds aren't sexy, they're not glamorous but you need to overcome them. Later it becomes glamorous. It can be tiring, a bit nerve-wracking. A bit monotonous to break this block down. The mindset has to be that we don't freak out, we don't start to doubt.' While there have been shock defeats in cup competitions – the worst being losing at third division 1. FC Saarbrucken as Bayern boss, closely followed by fourth-tier Lubeck when at Mainz – Tuchel's record is enviable. Pep Guardiola tried to stop Tuchel figuring out his systems - but lost to him three times The Champions League with Chelsea, plus two FA Cup finals. Delivering Borussia Dortmund's first piece of silverware in five years and only a second German Cup since 1989. A Coupe de France. Taking Paris Saint-Germain to a first Champions League final in 2020, in turn lifting what those around the club described as a European curse that had enveloped them for so long. They still talk fondly about Tuchel in Paris. The best coach of the Qatari era aside from Luis Enrique. He was given a rude awakening to an aversion to success on the continent on that famous night in 2019, the Marcus Rashford night in the Parc des Princes, the night Ole Gunnar Solskjaer threw on the kids and won one of the great ties in the dying seconds. Tuchel couldn't speak to anybody for two days. He gave players 48 hours off and thought about nothing but pain at home. Those who know Tuchel say he underestimated their curse after such a convincing 3-1 win at Old Trafford, in which Marquinhos excelled in an unfamiliar midfield role to mute Paul Pogba. With no Neymar, no Edinson Cavani and no Adrien Rabiot, the players crowned that a victory for Tuchel. But what he didn't anticipate was those same players being inside their own heads as United crept forward and threatened an upset in the second leg. Minds scrambled, PSG looked beaten even when leading on aggregate. There were things to learn from that. After treating United like any other game in the build-up, he chose man-management tweaks moving forward. After losing 2-1 in a last-16 first leg at Dortmund,Erling Haaland scoring twice, Tuchel started his practice of keeping players on their toes and not announcing the team until gameday, something England's stars often deal with now, and only lost in the final against Bayern Munich. When the pressure ramps up, Tuchel is known for his personal touches. On recovery days at Dortmund, he would sometimes ditch the running and venture that they play basketball instead. Players appreciated it, a device to alleviate tension. 'He's so chilled,' Declan Rice said. 'He just relaxes you. He's really, really good at it.' Tuchel's thought about this deeply, referencing Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan last week. 'A very famous conductor once said he doesn't want to disturb the music, and he doesn't want to disturb the musicians,' Tuchel said. 'That's basically what we try to do in the coaching team. Just encourage them to play with freedom. 'On the world stage, it can feel quite emotional to represent your country and to play in an England shirt. I get that. There are emotions involved and you can at some point feel the tension and feel the pressure. I hope we can cope with it, accept it.' Tuchel says 'it can feel quite emotional' playing for England - but his players can cope Pressure can be a confusing aspect of these weeks, when England's World Cup bracket potentially runs through DR Congo to Mexico to Brazil to Argentina. Tuchel has some guiding principles when the heat is on, in those crucial days before knockout fixtures. Tuchel has been known to change the dimensions of pitches, small and narrow, to overload brains before intense fixtures. He deliberately refuses to blow for obvious fouls or offsides in matches, to remove the instinct of complaining at referees and focus on counter-pressing instead. On the pitch, he maximises stress. Off it is entirely different. That comes from an ethos built earlier in his career, that the very biggest games have to be met with full intensity, to suffocate teams. To fly at opponents, to run more. It's pivoted somewhat over time, and should do as the temperatures now soar in America, but the principles remain the same. 'I've been taking a few,' said Jordan Pickford - who is responsible for five of the seven saves made by England goalkeepers in major tournament shootouts - after beating Panama. 'You've got to be prepared. In tournaments, time and time before, I've always come up with a save in a shootout and I'll hopefully continue that.' Tuchel believes penalties will play their part here – utilising FA software to devise the most polished list of takers – and at Mainz was one of the first coaches to implement breathing exercises, also hopping on the idea of arming goalkeepers with the cheat sheets on their bottles. Kickers are given the quirks of opposing goalkeepers to look out for. He turns training penalties into a fierce competition. In the past, players were dealt punishments for missing. It could be extra runs, helping out in the kitchen or having to don embarrassing T-shirts. And he notes down the body language of the takers – either those who approach it too quickly or couldn't take their eyes off the goalkeeper. They will be dropped from the five. Cesar Azpilicueta celebrates with Tuchel after Chelsea won the Club World Cup in 2022 A penalty defeat in a cup quarter-final against Borussia Monchengladbach saw him double down on the data and maths behind it all. But he still remained agitated at himself when in 2016, they succumb to Guardiola's Bayern in the final. 'A nightmare,' Tuchel said. 'I prepared everything. We needed to twist the tactics, and Pep twisted the tactics, and we twisted the structure and he twisted the structure. It was a fight. People got tired and it went into extra time. 'The full time whistle went and I was just not prepared. I forgot to prepare for a penalty shoutout. So we ended up asking the players: "Do you want to shoot? Do you want to shoot?" We were absolutely not ready. And we lost. A very painful experience and a big, big scar on me, because I felt really, really badly that I had let myself down. It will never happen again.' The way Dortmund countered Bayern's style that day made Guardiola wonder. Wonder in a way that surely nagged away at him in the weeks before that Champions League date in 2021. Tuchel snared the shiniest trophy in club football then – and now it is time to plot a way to its international equivalent. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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