Tuchel calls on Fifa to reschedule ‘awkward’ June international window

Thomas Tuchel has expressed frustration at the timing of the June international window and the strain it puts on players, saying Fifa ought to look at accommodating it elsewhere in the year.

The England head coach oversaw a debrief on Tuesday of his first camp, which took in the World Cup qualifying wins against Albania and Latvia at Wembley. He also looked ahead to his next get-together with the players, which will be for the away qualifier against Andorra on 7 June and the friendly with Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground three days after.

The summer calendar has been complicated by the Club World Cup in the US, which runs from 14 June to 13 July. Tuchel stands to have a host of his players involved, including the captain Harry Kane with Bayern Munich, Jude Bellingham with Real Madrid and the Chelsea and Manchester City contingents.

What most troubles Tuchel – and it is a concern he says is shared by club and national team managers – is the awkwardness of the June window and how it prevents players from having an uninterrupted rest at the end of the season. The situation is surely compounded by the Club World Cup.

The Premier League and La Liga conclude on 25 May and the Bundesliga finishes on 17 May. The DFB-Pokal final is on 24 May; Bayern are out of the competition. Then there is the Champions League final on 31 May, which could feature both Madrid and Bayern. Chelsea hope to contest the Conference League final on 28 May.

“Being a club coach or international coach – the Fifa June window is I think debatable … if it makes sense,” Tuchel said. “Not everyone plays a Champions League final or a club final so there is this awkward period for a player. They have 10 or 14 days’ break, then they go to international [in early June].

View image in fullscreen Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is one of a number of England players expected to feature in this summer’s Club World Cup. Photograph: George Wass/PPAUK/Shutterstock

“They get a little bit of holiday but they think: ‘Other players are on holiday, I need to come back. I can’t enjoy my two weeks because I need to do individual [work] and then I go suddenly to international camp.’ So the June window is not ideal for anyone, especially the players. But it’s there. It’s Fifa who can maybe align the calendar and find a gap where we put this window somewhere else to open the window for the better of the players.”

Competing teams at the Club World Cup must arrive in the US no later than three days before their opening tie. Bayern kick off on 15 June, Chelsea on the 16th and Madrid and City on the 18th. The international window runs from 2 to 10 June and the national teams have priority during it.

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That England’s game against Senegal is a friendly does not matter. It is considered by Fifa to be a match to prepare for a tournament, in other words the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel would not lose any players to clubs that might want them to prepare for the Club World Cup.

It is possible that Tuchel could come to an arrangement with a club in that scenario – to work out what would be best for the player in terms of his workload. That said, Tuchel has made it clear the time is short for him leading up to the World Cup and every training session will count.

“I am just worried about the pause of the players,” Tuchel said. “I am not so concerned about the amount of games they play in total. I am more concerned that they never have a real break of three to four weeks. Maybe they have three weeks’ holiday but maybe after five days they play another competition. That’s the problem. They should have a minimum three or three and a half weeks of preparation and then it would be better for everyone.”

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