Thomas Tuchel calls out two players for their performance against Albania in brutal post-match interview
Luke Alfred Davies
3 minutes
England head coach Thomas Tuchel gave a brutally honest assessment of his side’s performance after their 2-0 win against Albania at Wembley on Friday evening – and mentioned two players in particular.
Tuchel, 51, finally oversaw his first match in charge of England despite being appointed as head coach of the Three Lions back in October.
He did not have to wait long to see his side take the lead when on the 20-minute mark Arsenal defender Myles-Lewis Skelly latched onto a smart pass by Jude Bellingham before the teenager finished with aplomb to become the youngest player to score on his England debut at 18 years and 176 days.
And the home side doubled their lead on 77 minutes via captain Harry Kane, who controlled Declan Rice’s lofted ball before sharply smashing home.
However, despite it being a routine win for Tuchel’s side, not everyone impressed both fans and the new England boss.
Supporters explained how they felt Manchester City’s Phil Foden failed to make an impact on the game.
But what did Tuchel think of his performance?
In the aftermath of the game, he gave his thoughts to ITV Football.
First, he explained how his side “can do better”.
“We can do better, we have to do better,” said Tuchel. “We started well, we had seven-eight minutes with 100% ball possession with a lot of passes and high energy.
“The opponent is hard to break down as they defend in a deep block.
“In the Euros, they managed to not concede chances. Second half, I felt we were too slow and in general, not enough runs off the ball to get behind the line.”
The former Chelsea boss was then asked for his verdict on Foden and Marcus Rashford’s performances in wide positions.
“We hope for more impact in these positions,” he added.
“More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box. In general, that was missing. The chances come from the little runs behind the line.
“There was a bit missing they were not as decisive as they can be.”
The pair were mentioned again in his post-match press conference.
“We will encourage him [Foden] to do what he does best: go at defenders, go to dribbles,” Tuchel explained.
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“Both of our wingers were not as impactful as normally they can be, as they normally are in club football. I’m not sure why we struggled to bring the ball quicker to them, not sure why it took us so long.”
