Simon Jordan: England vs Norway is jeopardy match for Thomas Tuchel, if Three Lions lose he’s failed as manager

Thomas Tuchel has unconditionally failed as England manager if the Three Lions fail to beat Norway.

This is the view of talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan, who ramped up the pressure on the Three Lions boss ahead of the Saturday showdown in Miami.

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England expects

England are preparing to take on Erling Haaland and co. in the last eight having heightened the nation’s belief with their heroic 3-2 win against Mexico at the Azteca in the round of 16.

But Jordan has warned Tuchel that the pressure is on to succeed as he tries to lead England to their first World Cup triumph since 1966.

“We’re looking at a game with Norway that people expect us to win,” the former Crystal Palace chairman said on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan. “They expect England to win.

“It’s a real jeopardy game for Thomas Tuchel because if he loses to Norway – I don’t care how you slice and dice it – he has failed. He has unconditionally failed.

“They’ve got to beat Norway. It’s a reputation circumstance for Thomas Tuchel.

“Mexico was one thing; they’d have baked it into their thinking. They’d never been beaten in 60 years – or twice or three times – at the Azteca. There’s altitude; there’s this, there’s that, there’s the other…

“In this one, you’ve got a situation where, despite the uniqueness of having this wonderful centre-forward in [Erling] Haaland and these Premier League players in [the likes of Martin] Odegaard, England are baked into the thinking – you can tell me – on the odds of winning this game.

“So, I think you’ll see it Saturday night, the atmosphere. I think you’ll see it around the country. You’ll see it in pubs and clubs and wherever.”

Asked by co-host Jim White on Wednesday whether he thought England would make it to the final, Jordan predicted they would – and would face two-time winners France.

But if England are to reach their first World Cup final in 60 years, there can be absolutely no room for complacency.

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Kane vs Haaland could be a battle for the ages

So far, that doesn’t seem to have been an issue under Tuchel, who has historically thrived as a manager in high-pressure knockout football – as evidenced by the gutsy nature of Monday’s epic triumph in Mexico City.

Norway, though, are likely to present the Three Lions’ sternest examination of the tournament.

Playing at their first World Cup since 1998, the Vikings knocked out five-time world champions Brazil in the last 16, free-scoring spearhead Erling Haaland notching up both goals in a 2-1 victory to take his tally to seven at his maiden major tournament.

But England also boast arguably one of the two best strikers in world football right now in captain Harry Kane, who has found the net six times en route to the quarter-finals – dispatching the ultimately decisive penalty against Mexico.

Given how both sides’ knockout campaigns have gone so far – England and Norway record late wins over DR Congo and Ivory Coast respectively in the round of 32 – it promises to be a highly entertaining encounter in the high humidity of Florida.

The World Cup quarter-finals begin on Thursday night with France taking on 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in Boston, live on talkSPORT.

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