England manager Thomas Tuchel publicly criticized the Wembley crowd, labeling the fans “silent” and insisting they failed to give his team adequate support during their 3-0 friendly victory over Wales on Thursday.
Tuchel’s side produced an impressive attacking display in the first half, scoring three times within 20 minutes through Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Bukayo Saka. The performance was a promising follow-up to their 5-0 demolition of Serbia in a recent World Cup qualifier, suggesting the team is hitting top form ahead of next year’s World Cup.
However, the German coach expressed frustration with the lack of atmosphere, telling ITV:
“We did very, very well. We had an excellent first half, we were 3-0 up very quickly, but could have been four or five. Then we couldn’t score the fourth one or the fifth one and the stadium was silent! We never got any energy back from the fans and I think the players delivered a lot to get more from the fans.”
Tuchel’s frustration was compounded by the fact that he could clearly hear the 7,000 raucous Welsh supporters, who never stopped cheering their out-classed team.
Tuchel’s Expectations
When asked if he expected more from the sold-out Wembley crowd given the quality of the performance, Tuchel was emphatic:
“Yeah, what more can you give in 20 minutes? Three goals, the way we attacked Wales and didn’t let them escape. Even in their own half, ball win after ball win after ball win. If you only hear Wales fans for half an hour, it’s a bit sad because I think the team deserved big support today.”
Tuchel is starting to build a formidable team after replacing Gareth Southgate. He has now won six of his seven games in charge, making him only the third England manager—after Glenn Hoddle and Sven-Goran Eriksson—to achieve that many wins in his first seven matches.
He was pleased with the team’s ability to win convincingly despite missing key players like injured captain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish, and Phil Foden. England is now on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup and can secure their spot with a win in Latvia on Tuesday, depending on other Group K results.
Source: Super Sports
