Thomas Tuchel says Liverpool and Arsenal will have a “huge” advantage over Manchester City and Chelsea in next season’s Premier League title race because they will be much fresher having not played in the Club World Cup.
The England head coach believes the full effect of this summer’s new, extended FIFA tournament may not be fully known until next summer when the Premier League trophy is handed out and England begin their quest to win the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Chelsea and Man City will play a minimum of three games at the Club World Cup in the group stage and will have played seven games in a month if either side reaches the final.
“I think it [the Club World Cup] will have a huge impact and it will give Liverpool and Arsenal a huge advantage in the next season to not be there,” he said.
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A look back at some of the key results that led Liverpool to the Premier League title this year.
“I think it will be a very nice experience for the players who are there, to play this tournament for the first time. So it is mixed feelings about it.
“After a long season, they feel the tiredness. Harry [Kane] said he felt like coming [to England’s training camp] after one week would have been much harder.
“It was easier to come after two weeks. It gave him a kind of refreshment, and there were many players who came back after one week, and they said ‘Ah, we were just getting into holiday mode, and now we put the boots back on.'”
Tuchel has said he will put England’s interests ahead of any club interests when he selects his team for Tuesday night’s friendly against Senegal at the City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest.
But he also promised that he has the players’ welfare in mind and will do what is necessary to make sure they are not unnecessarily overworked.
“They all want to play,” he insists. “There is not one player who says they want to be on the bench and save themselves for the Club World Cup. They are hungry to play.
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Kaveh Solhekol discusses the news that the winners of the Club World Cup this summer will receive up to £97 million from FIFA, with £774 million to be shared between the 32 clubs.
“The games are not the problem. It’s just the amount of time it occupies with the players, and they need some rest in this calendar, which they hardly get.”
The German coach believes English players are more adversely affected than some of their European rivals because of the intensity and competitive nature of the Premier League.
With sweltering conditions expected in the host countries and nine English teams competing in Europe next season, Tuchel also fears that fatigue could be a factor for England’s players at the World Cup.
“We will deal with the effect when the effect comes. We have a lot of teams in the Champions League next season, and in European football, let’s see what happens.”
Which England World Cup hopefuls could play at CWC?
Cole Palmer and Reece James are set to play for Chelsea at the Club World Cup
Chelsea: Levi Colwill, Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Trevoh Chalobah, Reece James
Manchester City: John Stones, Phil Foden, Nico O’Reilly, Rico Lewis
Real Madrid: Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Borussia Dortmund: Jamie Gittens, Jobe Bellingham*
Bayern Munich: Harry Kane
Atletico Madrid: Conor Gallagher
*subject to completion of move from Sunderland
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
