The Three Lions are on the cusp of booking their place at next summer's tournament in North America but the coach says their lack of a major trophy since 1966 means they will not be among the favourites to triumph.

Tuchel said: "We will arrive as underdogs in the World Cup because we haven't won it for decades, and we will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time, so we need to arrive as a team otherwise we have no chance.

"If you've never won Wimbledon, you may be one of the favourites but you are not the favourite.

"You can go and if you come close, OK, you are within the pool, but you are not the favourite. It is just how it is.

"There is Brazil, there is Argentina, Spain, France and they just did it recently.

"It doesn't mean we have no chance and we know very well. First we will qualify and then we will know exactly why we go there."

Tuchel stressed that England will have no chance of winning the World Cup unless they are united as a team.

The German manager said: "Let's go step by step and it just buys into the other step. We build a team that is ready to go step by step and play as a team, and no-one wants hopefully to play against us.

"When I hear people talking about their titles in international football or their missed chances I hear always the same song: we have been a team or we haven't been a team. It is always the same song in international football.

"I also think it is the same headline in club football, but even more if you stick together 24/7 for a nine-day period, and then as long as possible in America, you have to be a group, you have to be a strong group."