
Furious Thomas Tuchel blasts his players' 'attitude and body language' in scathing verdict of England's dismal 1-0 win over Andorra... before sending clear message to booing fans
Thomas Tuchel hammered his England stars for 'playing with fire' in Saturday night's lifeless World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, saying they were fortunate they did not get burned in Barcelona.
Harry Kane scored the second-half winner, though the Three Lions were booed at half-time and then again at full-time. England supporters also took aim at Keir Starmer, chanting that the prime minister was a 'c***' and a 'w*****' in between expressing their frustration with the football on show.
While Tuchel said he did not hear those songs towards Starmer, he admitted he could not blame the fans for jeering the performance, likening it to the favourites in a cup competition arrogantly acting as if they had no reason to worry.
'I think in the end, we played with fire, honestly,' Tuchel said. 'I felt it almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger. I didn't feel a team that was aware it was only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Step by step the energy dropped when we needed exactly the opposite.
'But we couldn't deliver and so we got away with a win. I think we still deserved the win and we've got three wins and three clean sheets. We will not stop encouraging them and make clear after we have a proper look at the match what we want from them.
'I didn't like the attitude how we ended the game. I liked the attitude how we started, the first 25 minutes, but I didn't like the last 25. I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier. I think we played with fire. I didn't like the attitude in the end. I didn't like the body language. It was not what the occasion needed.'
England will face Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest's City Ground on Tuesday next, and Tuchel added: 'The booing is OK. First of all, the support was amazing, unbelievable, it created a fantastic atmosphere for a match like this. When I came out, straightaway I was excited.
'They were underwhelmed and not happy with our performance, especially with how we ended the first half. I don't think we can blame them for that. We cannot even blame them for how we ended the match.'
On the singing against Starmer, he added: 'I did not hear anything about abusive songs or chants. If it happened, it's of course not acceptable, but I did not hear it.'
England captain Harry Kane added: 'It's not one that many will remember and we had good spells but we take the three points and move on. Noni (Madueke) was a constant threat and we need more of that. We have amazing players and we need players who are going to take on players and keep doing it. He played really well. We need to be better, for sure.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Simpson survives two knockdowns to stop Zucco
Super-middleweight Callum Simpson picked himself up off the canvas twice before securing a stunning stoppage victory over Ivan Zucco in his home town of 28, made history as he maintained his unbeaten record (18-0) to become the town's first European champion when he stopped Italy's Zucco in the 10th round at Barnsley FC's Oakwell Stadium. The Englishman dedicated the win to his sister, Lily-Rae Simpson, who died aged 19 in a car accident in Greece last year."Not once did I give up, in those last few rounds I'll be honest I started thinking about my little sister Lily," Simpson said."I'll be honest, I just thought I had to push for her and for everybody. This time last year, Lily was sat up here cheering me on and she was there with me tonight when it got tough, when it got hard."From round eight, I thought, 'I've got to dig deep, I've got to keep pushing, I've got to do it for her'. She was with me tonight."With the win, Simpson puts himself in prime contention for a step up to world level by the end of the the raucous Oakwell crowd feared the worse with only eight seconds on the clock in in the opening round when Zucco downed Simpson with a hard left shook off the early knockdown and buzzed Zucco with some fine punching of his own, but the home favourite was caught too square in the third round, dropped for the second time by a left on by 23,000 inside the football ground, Simpson was not to be deterred and he continued to advance - taking a number of risks along the sensed an opening in the 10th round as he stalked Zucco before launching a stunning left uppercut on the chin of his opponent - who then sank to his knees before beating the was subjected to another punishing uppercut and slumped to his knees but he bravely rose on the count of eight, until a third knockdown meant the Italian's corner pulled their man out of the fight.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Mauricio Pochettino shuts down 'unrealistic' Tottenham links and claims he is 'so happy' with USA one year out from the World Cup
United States men's national team coach and former Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino threw water on rumors that he could return to north London. On Friday, the Europa League champions announced they had sacked manager Ange Postecoglu, who broke a 17-year title drought for the club. Answering a question asked by Daily Mail after a 2-1 loss to Turkey, Pochettino indicated that the rumors were not realistic and that his name was one of many linked with the job. 'I think, since I left in 2019, my name has always been on the list [of rumors],' Pochettino said in the press conference. 'I've seen the rumors, we are 100 coaches on the list. Don't be worried about that. If something happens, we'll see, but we cannot talk about this type of thing. 'Today it's not realistic, look where I am, look where we are. The answer is so clear.'


Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Thomas Tuchel blasts England fans claiming vile chants about Keir Starmer are ‘not acceptable'
Tuchel praised the overall support in the 1-0 win against minnows Andorra, even though they booed his team at half-time TUCHEL RAP Thomas Tuchel blasts England fans claiming vile chants about Keir Starmer are 'not acceptable' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ENGLAND boss Thomas Tuchel told Three Lions fans vile chants about PM Sir Keir Starmer were 'not acceptable'. Some of the 7,000 travelling supporters at yesterday's World Cup qualifier against Andorra called Sir Keir a 'c***' and 'w***er'. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 England fans in Andorra called Sir Keir a 'c***' and 'w***er' Credit: PA Tuchel praised the overall support in the 1-0 win against the tiny state, even though they booed his team at half-time. He said after full-time in Spain: 'Booing is OK. "The support was amazing. Incredible. 'They created a fantastic atmosphere. Read More on Sport TRANSFER LATEST Chelsea submit bid to sign Gittens, Liverpool make £113m Wirtz offer "They were underwhelmed with the way we performed. "It's not that we can blame them for that. "I didn't hear any abusive songs or chants. "But if it happened, of course, it's not acceptable.' It's thought that Declan Rice is being rested with a view to starting against Senegal on Tuesday evening instead. Other unusual choices appear to include Reece James starting at left-back and Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones being deployed as a make-shift right-back. 'They looked bored' - Roy Keane slams England's 'poor attitude' as Thomas Tuchel admits 'I didn't like' Andorra effort