Thomas Tuchel explains England’s quirky ‘mind-altering’ secret weapon for World Cup

England manager Thomas Tuchel has given his squad ‘magic shoes’ to wear in the hope the zany technology could help his side on their quest to win the 2026 World Cup

Thomas Tuchel has given all of his England stars “magic shoes” to help them march to World Cup glory.

England’s players have all been given special footwear which is supposed to send positive messages from the feet to the brain and are billed as a ‘mind-altering shoe.’

They have all started wearing them around the England training base in this camp ahead of the final two World Cup qualifying fixtures with Serbia and Albania.

Tuchel said: “Somebody told me about the shoes, then I saw everyone in the shoes – about the colour and about the shape and they said ‘it’s important that you wear them for my meetings.’

“They told me they can focus better in meetings if they wear these shoes and I hope the players believe it. May be the most important thing is that they believe it.

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“I don’t know the science behind it. They are desperate to tell me but I haven’t found time get my head around it. But all the players are wearing them.”

They are the Nike Mind, which do not go general sale until January 2026, and they are supposed to connect ‘thousands of mechanoreceptors’ on the underfoot with the mind. The shoes look a bit like Crocs but with a big, thick sole which are supposed to send sensors from underfoot to the brain to give the power of positive thought.

Tuchel is ready to try every trick in the book to make sure his players are well prepared for the World Cup in the United States next summer. The England boss himself regularly meditates and says he encourages his players to do the same, especially if it helps them relax.

Tuchel added: “It helps me to calm down, to focus and be aware. I don’t know how you feel the effect. It’s not like you do it and it’s immediately ‘oh wow’. It’s more of an ongoing thing. The more you do it the more effect you feel but it’s subtle.

“I would encourage everyone to try and to do it. I believe that it works. Even if you don’t believe that it works you don’t have to. That’s the nice thing about meditation. We have Suzanne in camp who does fantastic breathwork sessions. She does more stuff than just that but she does it and the players buy in to it. They feel the relief. There are many ways about it.

“I did it with the whole team at Dortmund. It was a nice experience. But football became more individual. Players have their support system around them. A lot of them invest in meditation and breathwork and pilates and visualization and yoga.”

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