England stars use ‘mind-altering footwear’ as Thomas Tuchel needs them to ‘consider’
Thomas Tuchel has given all of his England stars £79.99 ‘mind-altering shoes’ to help them focus and players are wearing them around their training base
Thomas Tuchel has equipped all of his England stars with “mind-altering shoes” to help propel them towards World Cup glory.
The Three Lions squad have been issued with special footwear designed to transmit positive signals from the feet to the brain, marketed as “mind-altering shoes”. All players have begun sporting them around England’s training headquarters during this camp before the final two World Cup qualifying clashes against Serbia and Albania.
Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford has been spotted in his pair, with the winger – on loan at Barcelona – showing off the Nike Mind footwear in “Solar Red/Hyper”, which cost £79.99 and are described as “Men’s Pregame Mules”.
Tuchel explained: “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. Maybe the most important thing is that they believe it.”
The German boss admitted: “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.”
The footwear in question won’t hit the shops until January 2026. They’re claimed to link “thousands of mechanoreceptors” on the sole of the foot with the mind, reports the Mirror.
The shoes resemble Crocs but feature a chunky, thick sole that’s meant to relay sensors from the underfoot to the brain, supposedly delivering the power of positive thinking. Tuchel is prepared to explore every avenue to ensure his squad is primed for next summer’s World Cup in the United States.
The England manager is a regular practitioner of meditation himself and actively encourages his players to embrace the technique, particularly for relaxation purposes.
Tuchel explained: “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.”
He continued: “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.”
Reflecting on his previous experience, he added: “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 visualisation and yoga.”
