Thomas Tuchel unhappy with England’s attitude after World Cup qualifier toil against Andorra

BARCELONA – Thomas Tuchel slammed England’s attitude and accused them of a lack of “seriousness” during their lacklustre 1-0 win over minnows Andorra on June 7.

His side were booed at the final whistle in Barcelona, Spain, after Harry Kane’s 50th-minute tap-in saved them from a humiliating draw with a team ranked 173rd in the world.

Although the Three Lions have won all three of their World Cup qualifiers since he took charge, they have struggled to fulfil the German’s desire for a more attacking style of play.

England had 83 per cent of the possession against a team they had scored 25 goals against without reply in six previous meetings, but suffered from a chronic lack of imagination.

Their laboured efforts against Andorra infuriated the German, who saw alarming signs that his players threw in the towel in the closing stages.

“I didn’t like the attitude how we ended the game. I liked the attitude how we started the game, the first 25 minutes, but I didn’t like the last 25 minutes,” he said.

“I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier. We played with fire and I didn’t like the attitude in the end. I didn’t like the body language and I think it was not what the occasion needed.”

England sit top of Group K as they progress towards the 2026 World Cup, yet they will need to improve significantly to make an impact in the expanded tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Tuchel was relieved to secure the victory after Andorra pushed for a late leveller, but he conceded his team had played with a lack of energy.

“In the end we played with fire, honestly. I felt it was almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger. I didn’t feel a team that is aware it’s only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier because we were not happy with ourselves,” he said.

“I’m not blaming them. I even feel like they felt ‘OK, we’re not happy and this is stuck today, it will not happen today’. Step by step, the energy dropped. We needed exactly the opposite, but we couldn’t deliver and so we got away with a win.”

He did have kind words, however, for Chelsea winger Noni Madueke, whose display was about the only positive for England.

“He was over the course of the match, the most dangerous. I could feel his hunger to do what was the plan throughout the whole of the match,” said the former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich coach, whose contract with England runs only to the date of the 2026 World Cup final.

Captain Kane, whose goal was the 450th of his career for club and country, also praised Madueke.

“I think he was a constant threat today and got the assist for the goal, but we need more of that. We have amazing players and we need players who are not afraid to take players on and if they lose it, do it again,” Kane said.

Tuchel had admitted before the game that it might be hard to crush Andorra by a huge margin because his players were tired after a draining domestic campaign.

Nine of England’s squad will jet off to the Club World Cup after their June 10 friendly against Senegal in Nottingham.

First, Tuchel will demand a more positive performance at the City Ground next week.

“We will not stop to encourage them and make clear after we have a proper look at the match what we want from them,” he said.

England supporters made up the majority of the 8,872 crowd at the RCDE Stadium and their displeasure was audible throughout a limp game that felt more like a pre-season friendly.

Tuchel could not blame them for expressing their frustration, with jeers for the team mixed with abusive songs about British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“The booing is OK. They were underwhelmed and not happy with our performance, especially how we ended the first half, so I don’t think we can blame them for that,” he said.

“We cannot even blame them how we ended the match. In the opposite. I thought they were fantastic throughout the whole match.” AFP, REUTERS