60 YEARS OF HEARTBREAK… AND ANGE POSTECOGLOU THINKS THAT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING England’s endless quest to bring football home has created one of the most demanding jobs in world sport. Now, Ange Postecoglou has revealed the hidden reality behind the role, suggesting there is one factor that would be enough to make many managers think twice. As another World Cup campaign approaches, his comments are shining a light on a challenge that supporters rarely see — but one that could define everything. THE DETAIL POSTECOGLOU POINTED TO IS LEAVING FANS CURIOUS

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Ange Postecoglou picks out the worst thing about managing England at the World Cup

England will seek to end their World Cup drought, which sits at 60 years, and Ange Postecoglou admits the weight of expectation is enough to put a manager off

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(Image: ITV)

Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou admits the only reason you’d want to avoid coaching England is “the weight of history against them” which never seems to fade.

The Three Lions go into this summer’s World Cup off the back of reaching the final in the last major tournament. That was under Gareth Southgate, who reached at least the semi-finals in three of his four tournaments. Thomas Tuchel is now the man in charge.

He has Champions League-winning pedigree but the England job has proved a poisoned chalice ever since their success of 1966. Sven-Goran Eriksson was among Europe’s best when he was hired, the same could be said of Fabio Capello, but both men fell short.

This current crop of England stars boast the world’s best striker in Harry Kane as well as the likes of Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice. Postecoglou insists working with top players is always a draw, but the pressure and talk of repeating history is a constant background noise.

The Australian said on ITV: “Yeah you’d love to manage them because they’ve got world class footballers, but I’ve said before the biggest thing they need to overcome is the weight of history against them and the constant talk of that.

“It has been the quietest kind of build up to an England World Cup campaign, you haven’t felt that kind of hype. That may help them, that may be something that allows them.. because the most important thing right now is Croatia, you get three points and build from that.

“But that weight of history is always going to be looming over them. Thomas Tuchel has spoke about breaking that cycle, but easier said than done..”

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA – JUNE 09: Thomas Tuchel, Manager of England, speaks to his players during an England Training Session on June 09, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

 

Roy Keane claimed that England’s elite stars need to be complimented by people thinking highly of them – and stop using the pressure as an excuse when it comes to crunch time.

“You can’t keep making excuses for England when they don’t produce in tournaments,” said the Irishman. “People talk about pressure and the weight of the jersey. But these are a lot of big players, part of being a top footballer in a top team is dealing with pressure, expectation is good.”