After the trouble surrounding midfield star Jude Bellingham, who was not nominated, Thomas Tuchel is also taking on the English football fans. After the 3-0 (3-0) win against their British neighbors Wales, which was particularly convincing in the first half, the Three Lions coach complained about the lack of support at Wembley Stadium.
“There was silence in the stadium – we didn’t get any energy back from the fans. And I think the players did a lot to get more from the stands,” Tuchel told ITV.
When asked if he expected more from the fans, he replied: “Yes.”
Referring to the three goals in the opening minutes, he added: “What more can you do than score three goals in 20 minutes? And the way we carry on, the way we attack Wales. We didn’t let them escape from their own half, winning ball after ball after ball.”
But this dominance at the beginning was not rewarded. “When you only hear the Wales fans for half an hour, it’s a bit sad because I think the team deserved a lot of support today.”
The topic came up again at the post-game press conference. The former coach of FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund confirmed that he was “a little disappointed”. As a comparison, the 52-year-old used the support of the English fans in the previous 5-0 win in Serbia, saying it was “absolutely fantastic”.
“I love English football and English football fans and the support they give – but I think the atmosphere today didn’t match our performance on the pitch.” It was Tuchel’s seventh game as coach of the Three Lions.
“Why is the roof still on the stadium?” he asked himself given the strong performance in the early stages. “What’s up?” But he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of the lack of atmosphere. “We will do everything we can to be contagious again. There is no problem.”
England: Clear victory gives momentum for World Cup qualification
Without the recovered Bellingham, whom Tuchel had not invited, and the ailing captain Harry Kane, England were particularly convincing in the first half and really played Wales against the wall. Morgan Rogers (3rd), Ollie Watkins (11th) and Bukayo Saka (20th) decided the game early on.
Tuchel’s team had already played well in the 5-0 win against Serbia in the World Cup qualifiers in September. However, there was criticism again of the German coach, who this time was described in the media as a “man with an axe” and “unscrupulous” because he did without Bellingham.