Despite England’s 2-0 win over Albania, Thomas Tuchel criticised Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden for their lack of impact, urging them to be more aggressive and decisive going forward.
Thomas Tuchel has criticised Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden’s style of play despite his winning start as England manager.
He led his team to a dominant 2-0 win over Albania on Friday night but he pointed out that Premier League stars Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford underperformed and he was forced to substitute them in the second half.
He had high expectations of the two players, but they disappointed him with their below-the-par aggressiveness, urging them to do better going forward.
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Thomas Tuchel expected Marcus Rashford to prove himself since he recently bounced back to form after joining Aston Villa on loan from Manchester United.
Despite failing to score at Aston Villa, he has been vital in his nine appearances. On Friday night, Marcus Rashford could only afford 55 touches and completed 35 out of his 41 passes.
On his part, Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden lost the ball nine times and only had 52 touches with no key passes.
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“We hoped for more impact in these positions…we tried Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen. I hoped for more impact, more dribbling, less passes, more dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box,” Thomas Tuchel told ITV Sport.
“It was a bit missing from the wide players. They were not as decisive as they can be. I think that was missing.”
Thomas Tuchel lauded efforts from Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham who made meaningful passes and even set up Myles Lewis-Skelly to score the opening goal.
“I think all the chances came from little diagonal runs behind the line. Jude Bellingham had some good runs in the first half. Myles Lewis-Skelly scored from it. Kyle Walker had one,” he added.
As England moves forward, Tuchel will expect higher standards from his attacking stars to ensure sustained success. They currently lead Group K with three points from their win over Albania and play Latvia next.
