​Assistant manager Anthony Barry says that England must take the handbrake off as Thomas Tuchel’s side head into the World Cup clash against Norway with a full tank and their foot on the gas. The two-time European Championship finalists continue their pursuit of glory against Erling Haaland and his teammates in the scorching Miami heat at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday for the quarter-final showdown. Argentina or Switzerland await the winner on Wednesday in Atlanta, where England began the knockout stage with a 2-1 comeback victory against the Democratic Republic of Congo after a scare.
Tuchel’s squad then faced hostility, altitude and a red card to overcome Mexico in a dramatic 3-2 last-16 encounter, and there is a belief that the best is still to come. “We believe that the petrol tank is full, the foot is on the gas, and now perhaps we just need to take the handbrake off,” England assistant Barry told talkSPORT. “Sometimes that happens with the opponents we’re facing, sometimes it happens when they truly see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are only 11 days left, and now is the time to take the handbrake off and go all in. We think the public and everyone has seen many good aspects of this team, but we still believe there’s more left to show. If they click, if they become coherent and deliver a cohesive performance that we believe they’re capable of, it could be pretty exciting to watch.”
Barry’s confidence stems from England’s high-caliber training and a togetherness that was evident during and after the game at Estadio Azteca. They dug deep and then shifted from celebration to protection after Jordan Henderson’s freak injury—an “incredible moment” for a group they have always trusted. “I think Thomas and I certainly hoped or believed it from the day we took the job,” Barry said of their World Cup ambitions. “It’s our job to believe and to make the players and the rest of the nation believe with us. There were 48 teams at the start of the competition. We’ve narrowed it down to eight. If you ask the other seven countries, they’ll now start to dream and see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, for us, from day one we’ve said we want to try to put the second star on the shirt. We’re here to compete, but so are the other seven teams left.”
Barry believes that “world-class” manager Tuchel is bringing the best out of England’s top players, whose traits and squad dynamics he views as similar to Norway’s. “We expect a difficult game,” he added. “We anticipate seeing a lot of names on the team sheet that I know, that you know, that many fans know from the elite players we see in the Premier League every week. You can see that they’re trying to optimize for better visibility and search optimization, but more importantly, they’re the kinds of players who can deliver in big moments.”