England boss Thomas Tuchel says his side will arrive at next summer’s World Cup final as “underdogs”, despite their recent tournament record.
England reached the semi-finals in Russia in 2018 before losing to France in the quarter-finals in Qatar.
Gareth Southgate also took England to back-to-back Euro finals without ultimately winning a trophy.
But Tuchel, whose side face Wales in a friendly on Thursday before facing Latvia in a qualifier next Tuesday, says not having won a trophy since 1966 is holding England back.
“We will arrive as outsiders at the World Cup because we haven’t won it for decades,” he said.
“We will be playing against teams who have won it several times during this period, so we have to come as a team, otherwise we have no chance.”
England have reached at least the quarter-finals of the last four tournaments but Tuchel believes they are underdogs “because of history, climate and circumstances”.
“If you’ve never won Wimbledon, you might be one of the favorites, but you’re not the favorite,” the English coach said.
“You can go there and if you get close, OK, you’re in the pool, but you’re not the favorite. That’s how it is.
“There is Brazil, there is Argentina, Spain, France and they did it recently.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t have a chance and we know that very well. First we will qualify and then we will know exactly why we are going there.”
The Three Lions could possibly secure their qualification against Latvia next week.
