Thomas Tuchel Calls Out Two England Players After Win vs Albania
James Stroud
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Thomas Tuchel’s reign as England manager got off to a winning start as the Three Lions defeated Albania at Wembley Stadium on Friday night. The 51-year-old gave debuts to Dan Burn and Myles Lewis-Skelly, while he also gave Rashford his first start for his country since 2023, for England’s opening World Cup qualifying match.
He would have been desperate to mark his first match with a win and he got exactly what he wanted as a debut goal from Lewis-Skelly and a well-taken strike from Harry Kane gave the Three Lions a 2-0 victory.
However, despite picking up all three points, England were far from their best. While they never really looked like conceding, Tuchel’s side struggled to get going in attack and the German manager wasn’t overly happy with what he saw.
Thomas Tuchel Criticises England Duo After Albania Game
They weren’t as impactful as he wanted them to be
Thomas Tuchel
England have an abundance of quality in attacking areas and Tuchel decided to deploy Rashford and Phil Foden in wide areas alongside Harry Kane. The duo failed to show what they were capable of, though, with both players being substituted in the second half.
Tuchel wasn’t shy in crticising the duo in his post-match interview, saying they did not have the impact he thought they would have in his first match. He said, per the Guardian:
“We hope for more impact in these positions. More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box. In general that was missing. The chances come from the little runs behind the line. They were not as decisive as they can be.
“We will encourage him [Foden] to do what he does best, to go at defenders, to go into dribbles. Both our wingers who started were not as impactful as they can be in club football. I’m not so sure why we struggled to bring the ball quickly to them.
Foden
“We lacked runs off the ball. It was a little bit too much passing, not enough dribbling, not aggressive enough towards goal. They trained very well, they were decisive in training. That’s why I also think they deserved [to start], they were very good in the last weeks with their clubs. We will keep on encouraging them.”
Tuchel also shared his disappointment in his side’s performance as a whole, but vowed that the team will improve. He said, per the Daily Mail:
“We weren’t disciplined in the structure. We tried a little bit too much alone and out of possession. It was a fluid game in the opponents’ half but not in the final 20 metres. We need to take more risk with chipped balls behind the line.
Thomas Tuchel
Related
Roy Keane Criticises Tuchel for ‘Harsh’ Comments About Gareth Southgate
Roy Keane was less than impressed with Thomas Tuchel’s remarks ahead of his first time in charge of England.
“I had the feeling there was more frustration in the second half, we couldn’t play in our structure and it became more complicated. We need to play through people and find a better rhythm. We’ll get better. We’ll understand better and I’ll understand the players better, to find more aggressive movements.”
England will be back in action on Monday when they welcome Latvia to Wembley Stadium. Whether Rashford and Foden retain their place in the starting XI remains to be seen.
