
We weren't happy – Thomas Tuchel won't pull punches when criticising England
After Gareth Southgate called time on his eight-year reign having lost a second European Championship final, the Football Association turned to German coach Tuchel in a bid to take them that last step.
Tuchel's contract takes him through to the end of next summer's World Cup, where England will be among the favourites but have plenty of work to do judging by Saturday's forgettable 1-0 win against minnows Andorra.
Boos from unimpressed fans greeted the half-time and final whistles in Barcelona, where the frustrated head coach spoke frankly about his unhappiness at the side's lack of 'seriousness and urgency' as they 'played with fire' towards the end.
Asked if it was a risk being so publicly critical of the team, Tuchel responded: 'What risk? You were in the stadium. What should I tell you? That we played a good match and are happy.
'The risk is only that you exaggerate it and make something of it that was not there. Everything I said I said already to the team. There is no harm done.
'We were not happy and no single player will be happy with what we showed today. Why would the coach be? And why would we be shy of saying so?
'If we want to get better, we first need to address that we were not happy with the end of both halves.'
Put to Tuchel that some players can be thin-skinned, the England boss said: 'I didn't name a single name.
Back to it on Tuesday in Nottingham! 👊#ThreeLions | @NuffieldHealth pic.twitter.com/XCkyCIerHi
— England (@England) June 8, 2025
'We do this as a team. It's always a 'we' and I didn't like how the way we ended the match and the way we ended the first half. I didn't like the attitude or the energy level and how that dropped.
'I liked the beginning of the team. It always includes me. Everything I say I tell the players.'
Tuchel feels he has a 'top group' full of players whose quality and character he loves – a side that will attempt to lift the mood by heading into the summer on the back of a promising performance in Tuesday's friendly against Senegal.
The visitors are ranked 19th in the world, 154 places above Andorra, and will be the toughest test since the 51-year-old took charge, but the honeymoon period could end if they play badly at the City Ground.
'I always feel pressure as I am not happy with myself,' Tuchel said when that was put to him.
'The biggest pressure comes from myself. We have three wins and three clean sheets and we have a friendly match on Tuesday. I have felt more pressure than that.'
Tuchel is expecting a 'good test' against Senegal and will look to balance rotation with the need to extract everything from their limited time together, saying: 'We worship every training and we worship every match.'
Ivan Toney, called up for the first time since joining Saudi side Al-Ahli, is among those pushing to start after Ollie Watkins withdrew through injury and Harry Kane completed Saturday's win against Andorra.
'We have opportunities and we will see some changes but I am not going to give you names now because I don't know the line up,' Tuchel added.
'It's not the time now to talk about Ivan Toney because now we just played a game and we must analyse the game.'
Hashtags

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


The Independent
18 minutes ago
- The Independent
Kevin De Bruyne joins Napoli after turning down lucrative offer to leave Europe
Kevin De Bruyne has joined Napoli on a free transfer after leaving Manchester City at the end of the season. The 33-year-old opted to sign for the Serie A champions after turning down a move to the Chicago Fire in MLS. De Bruyne arrived in Italy on Thursday and was mobbed by Napoli fans before meeting owner Aurelio De Laurentiis. The Belgium international departed City after 10 years and said he remained confident of playing at the highest level. While he did not rule out playing for another Premier League club, De Bruyne was faced with a choice between Napoli and Chicago Fire. He joins a side who won their second Serie A title in three seasons last month and will link up with Belgium team-mate Romelu Lukaku in Naples. 'Kevin is proud to be one of us!,' Napoli posted on social media platform X. De Bruyne lifted 19 trophies at City following his move from German side VfL Wolfsburg - including six Premier League titles and the Champions League. He made 422 appearances in all competitions for City, netting 108 times and registering 177 assists, though injuries have limited De Bruyne over the last two seasons.


Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
De Bruyne joins Italian champions Napoli after Man City exit
June 12 (Reuters) - Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has joined Serie A champions Napoli as a free agent on Thursday, following the end of his glittering 10-year spell at Manchester City. De Bruyne lifted 19 trophies at City since his 2015 move from German side VfL Wolfsburg — a haul that includes six Premier League titles and one Champions League crown. He has also been named the Premier League Player of the Season twice. Regarded as one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history, the 33-year-old's contract at City expired at the end of the recently-concluded season. "Kevin is proud to be one of us!," Napoli posted on social media platform X. The Belgium captain featured in 40 matches in all competitions for City last campaign, scoring six goals and providing eight assists and helping them qualify for next season's Champions League, after being sidelined by a thigh injury in September. Injuries had limited his appearances in the last two seasons. De Bruyne made 422 appearances in all competitions for City, netting 108 times and registering 177 assists. He has the second-most assists in Premier League history with 119, behind Ryan Giggs (162). Napoli won their second Serie A title in three years after a tight race with Inter Milan.


The Herald Scotland
29 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Motherwell manager worth risk, and why tear down Miller?
The news caught us all a bit off guard. Especially one or two Scottish former pros it seems who were keen on the gig. But after the disappointment of Michael Wimmer's departure, this was exactly the type of appointment the club needed to make to get the juices flowing again ahead of the new campaign. Now, I am not just saying this because he is a foreign coach with a slightly exotic sounding name. But rather because the board have clearly followed the same process that landed on Wimmer's name last time around, which inspires faith that they aren't swayed by factors such as a past history in the Scottish game. Equally, I'm sure that had the best available candidate been a Scot, they would have been appointed. But for clubs in Motherwell's situation, where they have been stuck in a sort of mid-lower table limbo for a few years, I think the era of opting for a 'safe pair of hands' is over. Just look at the reaction to, well, just about every other managerial choice in Scotland this summer. Yes, like any appointment, it could all go horribly wrong, Motherwell could be dragged into a relegation dogfight next season, and there could be an element of being careful what we wished for. But I would rather take the chance of breaking out of the morass of mediocrity by striving to move up the table and perhaps create something special, than be ruled by fear that it may go the other way. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) Life is short, and all that. So let me welcome the (hopefully great) Dane to Fir Park. His CV is certainly an intriguing one. A decent enough playing career as a centre back included a stint at Norwich City, but his coaching journey has taken him to the Faroe Islands (where he won a double with HB Torshavn), his native Denmark (where he managed Horsens and was most recently assistant manager at FC Copenhagen), Czechia (where he was assistant at Sparta Prague) and Sweden (where he managed IFK Gothenburg, no less). He has had some ups and downs along the way, but there are clubs of real European pedigree on that list, and he has tasted a fair bit of success too. Given how tight-lipped they are this weather, I might well be the only journalist in Scotland praising chairman Kyrk McMillan and his board today, but fair play to them for another bold choice. AND ANOTHER THING… As much as I have always believed that club allegiances should be left at the Hampden turnstiles when you're going there to watch the national side, I can't deny there is an extra surge of pride whenever you see a Motherwell player (past, or present) pulling on the dark blue. And actually, it isn't even confined to just Scotland. I well remember the ovation that the great Tommy Coyne got upon his return to Fir Park following the 1994 World Cup where he represented Ireland with such distinction, when the Steelmen took on (tenuous link coming up…) Jens Berthoul Askou's former club, HB Torshavn. Anyway, so it was this week that I was delighted to see Lennon Miller not only represent his country but do so with distinction as he ran the show against Liechtenstein. Now, before all the snidey snipers jump in, I know the level of the opposition. I am not saying that Miller is better than Zinedine Zidane because he caught the eye against the team ranked 205th in the world. (Image: Craig Williamson - SNS Group) But ask yourselves this. If it is so easy to stand out in such a game, why wasn't Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson man of the match? Or Serie A winner Billy Gilmour? Or Aston Villa captain John McGinn? Miller outshone all of these wonderful players in the Scotland midfield on the day, and there is nothing wrong with pointing out how impressive that is from an 18-year-old prospect. That didn't stop an army of these 'reply guys' on social media responding to any post praising the performance of Miller by sneering at the level of Liechtenstein, insisting he is worth only £3m or thereabouts (which is, at least, a good couple of million more than where Maurice Ross recently valued him), and their favourite phrase of course, that 'they just don't see it' with the youngster. This wasn't only fans of the larger clubs either, who you might expect at least to hold a snooty attitude towards a player from Motherwell, and who are perhaps emotionally preparing themselves to cope with the fact that he may have moved now beyond their clutches. No, this was coming too from fans of teams of a similar size. Is it jealousy that Motherwell have reared such a talent while their own club has not? That there is about to be a huge cash injection to one of their rivals? Or is it simply that peculiarly Scottish trait of not wanting anyone to get too far above their station? I just don't understand why any Scottish football fan would feel the need to try and tear such a young talent down, or bring him down a peg or two. Particularly when the one person who absolutely isn't getting carried away with the hype is young Lennon himself, who showed remarkable maturity beyond his years once again in his post-match interview. It's all just a bit weird. It was nice though to see many other fans of all sizes of clubs shout these types down, and there were even more Celtic and Rangers fans beseeching their clubs to go out and spend whatever it takes to land him. Miller has done himself proud this week. And he may well have ensured Motherwell are about to hit the jackpot.