'Message twisted over racism' says Tuchel ahead of Spain V England

It is the biggest test in world football for national teams at the moment because Spain seems unbeatable since having an incredible run. It's in itself a powerful nation since many, many years in international football. Very, very strong identity and a very strong and competitive mentality. So they won the last big titles, they won the European Championship, they won the World Cup, of course. We're trying to take it away from them, we're trying to beat them, we're up for it. We think it's two powerful nations, I think we're in a very good moment to push our limits, we're in a very good moment to try what so many teams tried. I think we were very close in Wembley in the first match, and we're up for a spectacular match and we're up for the fight, we want to win, that's the target for tomorrow. James Trafford will play tomorrow, we will share the match like we did in the last campaign. They will share, we want to see how far Traff is and we give him the opportunity, which is normally very rare for goalkeepers, so we use the Nations League for exactly that, to see him and to trust him in a high-pressure environment, in a high-pressure match. I think our team feels very strong at the moment and that's the foundation to do something spectacular and to do something extraordinary, to have self-belief and the group is full of self-belief and rightly so. I was polite enough to ask a question from your colleagues and you run and ask the other coach and tell him that I talk about racism in Spain. It's a perfect example how it works because I never talked about racism in Spain. I answered politely a question. What happens? I never expect racism, and the dressing room is the most anti-racist place on earth. And that's exactly how it works. You create a lot of confusion for absolutely nothing. It's a perfect example of how it should not work. I sent a message, but this is what, it got twisted, because I said I always expect... A friendly atmosphere and I always expect, now if we play away game, I expect emotional and of course supporting fans from Spain for their national team. That's what I expect. But I don't expect racism nowhere and I'm shocked if it happens and it should happen nowhere. And I am the first one to stand up for these kind of values. Then I got asked what will happen if and if and if and I said if it happens there's a protocol in place. That's it. That's it, but my trust is that we have a friendly atmosphere, that we have an atmosphere that is clearly in favour of the Spanish team, and that football does what it does best, bring people together and not divide people. That's 100% clear. I struggle to see how it's good for us that Lamine Amal is back, but I'm happy if you can convince me. I think he's one of the very best and most influential players offensively on the planet right now, so I think he's a huge weapon. He's one of the very best players that we have to control, so I don't see a disadvantage. I was always sure that he was ready to play in this kind of match, and that's why we prepare for a team with Laminiemo. It's a massive game. I don't think you can probably get much bigger than a Champions League semi-final against Argentina. I think when you're playing against the world champions in Spain, it's a great initiative to go out there and want to win. That's been the message in all week. Beat Croatia, come to Spain, put on a really good performance, win the game and try and top the group. So it's one we're going to be ready for tomorrow night. I'm not expecting any of that tomorrow night. I think this is a beautiful city, great stadium. I think the players that we're playing against, we have a lot of respect for. We play against them all the time. So I think it's set up to be a really good evening and hopefully not a negative one. For me and for everyone in England, Harry deserved a Ballon d'Or. I think if you look at his season, his numbers, the trophies he's won, the way he performed in them games, it weren't just goals, it was man-of-the-match performances, it was relentlessness at times. Sometimes. So I see how every Spanish player is going to obviously say Lamin. Lamin's an incredible player, one of the best players in the world and is going to win loads of Ballon d'Ors. But I think this time it was right that Harry won and I think that he fully deserves a win. The Ballon d'Or was in the restaurant the other day, so to see that first-hand was special. With Harry, he's just so humble. I think you wouldn't have even known he'd won the Ballon d'Or, to be honest with you. He doesn't speak much about it, you wouldn't hear him talking about it, unless you ask him about it. I feel like so many players have wanted to know what that experience was like. For us, 126 cap now. Highest goalscorer for England, Ballon d'Or winner. I think we're playing with a true legend of the game and we can't take these moments for granted. So we're very, very lucky that we're in Harry Kane's presence. We get to play with him. Yeah, we have to cherish every moment we have to get to play with this guy.