Thomas Tuchel: the Man City ‘case’ is a key focus for England camp

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said the Manchester City guilty verdict over Premier League financial rule breaches is a major talking point inside the squad ahead of the Nations League trip to Rijeka to face Croatia.

An independent commission ruled the club guilty on charges tied to financial misconduct across nine seasons (from 2009-10 to 2017-18), and on three of four counts related to failing to cooperate with the investigation. City, which has denied any wrongdoing throughout the process, lodged an appeal aimed at overturning the decision and avoiding potentially harsh sanctions today.

England and the dressing room

Tuchel added in his press conference that players are discussing it. He pointed to Elliot Anderson and Marc Guéhi as City players involved with the national team, while explaining that left-back Nico O’Reilly returned to Manchester in the last hours to receive treatment because the pain prevented him from being on the pitch.

England sit second in Nations League Group A3 with three points from two games: a 2-3 defeat to Spain at Wembley, then a 0-2 win over the Czech Republic on Tuesday. The Rijeka match will be played behind closed doors due to Croatian fan incidents from the quarter-final against France in March 2025. Tuchel also stressed the “three days’ margin” that helped manage physical load for players such as Anderson and Gordon.