Thomas Tuchel criticises England players’ attitude, condemns Keir Starmer chants, and responds to boos from fans in the win against Andorra.
You could see the look on his face after the game, he wasn’t happy with that performance on Saturday evening in Barcelona.
He criticised his players’ approach and body language following a rather boring 1-0 win against Andorra, describing their performance as lacking seriousness and “not good enough” and made it known to the players in the dressing room.
Tuchel also condemned England fans for chanting offensive remarks about UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling the behaviour “not acceptable,” though he claimed he didn’t hear the chants during the match.
Regarding boos from supporters, Tuchel acknowledged their outstanding support despite the team’s subpar display, showing understanding of their frustration.
“I did not like the lack of urgency… It’s still a World Cup qualifier” ☝@gabrielclarke05 gets an honest assessment from Thomas Tuchel after his England side managed a 1-0 win against Andorra#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/QLt2U15HuO
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 7, 2025
England manager Thomas Tuchel speaking to ITV: “I am not happy with the performance I think we started well in the first 20 or 25 minutes. We created a lot of chances and half chances, and we lost completely the momentum and couldn’t get it back in the first half. Got a little bit in the second half but then ended up in a place that was not good enough in terms of urgency.
“We can just admit it that it’s not what we expect from us. We need to look at it in detail and do better on Tuesday.”
Did Madueke stand out: “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.
“The message got across because we had a good 25 minutes but then the energy and the determination weren’t there anymore. Then it looks like it does.
“I was most worried in the last 20 minutes because I did not like the attitude that we ended the game with. I didn’t like the lack of urgency and it did not match the occasion. It is still a World Cup qualifier. We will let them know tomorrow what we want from them.”
Thomas Tuchel has responded after England fans loudly called Prime Minister Keir Starmer a ‘c***’.
To the tune of KC & The Sunshine Band’s song Give It Up, they were heard singing: ‘Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na-na-na now, Starmer is a ****, is a ****, Starmer is a ****.’
Fans inside RCDE Stadium also chanted: ‘Keir Starmer is a w****r, is a w****r.’
England away,. best hobby in the world and we all hate @Keir_Starmer #cunt #UTE #England #folllowenglandaway 🏴 pic.twitter.com/DHhv4rLc9u
— Mark (@qprhills) June 7, 2025
But after the game, Tuchel said he didn’t hear any of the songs in question.
‘If it happened, it’s not acceptable,’ he told reporters during his press conference. ‘But I didn’t hear any offensive songs or chants.’
Tuchel meanwhile said he didn’t blame the fans for booing the performance: Asked about the booing, Tuchel said: “The booing is OK. First of all, the support was amazing, unbelievable, it created a fantastic atmosphere for a match like this. When I came out, straight away I was excited, they made it a very special atmosphere.
“They were underwhelmed and not happy with our performance, especially with how we ended the first half. I don’t think we can blame them for that. We cannot even blame them for how we ended the match. The opposite, I thought they were fantastic for the whole match.
‘I think in the end, we played with fire, honestly.
‘I felt it almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger. I didn’t feel a team that was aware it was only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Step by step the energy dropped when we needed exactly the opposite.
‘But we couldn’t deliver and so we got away with a win. I think we still deserved the win and we’ve got three wins and three clean sheets. We will not stop encouraging them and make clear after we have a proper look at the match what we want from them.
‘I didn’t like the attitude how we ended the game. I liked the attitude how we started, the first 25 minutes, but I didn’t like the last 25. I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier. I think we played with fire. I didn’t like the attitude in the end. I didn’t like the body language. It was not what the occasion needed.’
“The [international] window is the window so no excuses or nothing.
“The clubs don’t like the window and even for the national teams, it’s not an easy window because they come from holiday or a long season. But still, I think we can and have to do better over the 90 minutes.
“We played 25 minutes where I had the feeling that it was a matter of time before we scored where we created the chances. But we lost this momentum completely and the last 20 minutes of the first half. We started OK, maybe, in the second half but we lost this momentum again.
“We created an xG of three and underperformed with one goal, which is very unusual in a match like this where you usually overperform an xG. Normally if you create three, you score five, if you create two, you score four, by individual quality and finishing. But with a lack of energy and a lack of quality in these moments, at the end of both halves, I think it’s the most honest thing to admit it. We expected more from us. We can deliver more. We will try to take this as a learning [process] and do better as quickly as possible.”
England captain Harry Kane speaking to ITV: “It’s not one that many will remember and we had good spells but we take the three points and move on.
“We were probably not good enough on the ball and it gave them some confidence and then the last five or 10 minutes, we have to stop them.
“I think Noni [Madueke] was a constant threat today and we need more of that. We have amazing players and we need players who are going to take on players and keep doing it. He played really well.
“We need to be better for sure. June is never an easy camp and we have people coming in after long seasons. We have a friendly on Thursday we can learn from again. The fans were great and they made themselves heard, and we are disappointed we couldn’t score more but we will look towards the next game.”
England’s Morgan Rogers told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Conditions were tough, that’s what you have to deal with in hot countries. We’ve been training all week in that. The World Cup will be the same. We’ve just got to perform under these circumstances.
“These games are always difficult, the way teams set up to try to stop our threats. We got the job done. We won the game which is the objective. We’d like more goals. But there are still positives to take. We know we need to improve and will hold ourselves accountable.
“The manager is trying to get his ideas across to the players. We’re trying to learn and improve. We’ve had a tough week of training. We’ve got another game to try to show what we’re about.
“[It’s] just the start. We’ve got different ideas and a different identity for how we want to play.
“We’ve got bags of talent in the dressing room. It all takes time. There’s no rush but we don’t want to waste these games.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live: “I felt us frustrated and a lack of attitude in the last stages of the game, which I didn’t like at all. I didn’t want to create an atmosphere when we get frustrated easy. I don’t know why we lost our momentum or speed. The last half an hour I did not like at all. Everything is a learning. We are smarter than before and we will talk about it honestly and directly and try to do it better.
“It surprised me because we started well. We created an xG of three and underperformed with one. It just shows we were not precise enough and had a lack of quality in finishing.
“It is our second camp, and we can do much better. That includes me. It always takes two to tango and we need to do better on Tuesday. There are no excuses. There was a lack of being aggressive in duels and then it becomes like what we saw and it did not have the quality we wish. There is a lot to do and from there we go.
“Declan [Rice] looked a little bit out of rhythm and I think Jordan [Henderson] deserved to play. And also for what Jordan brings to this group, well deserved. We started well and then lost the rhythm and precision and also the energy to be more decisive and score more goals.
“It is necessary that we look at it and then present in detail to the players what we don’t like, what we want to do better and what are the standards.”
England winger Noni Madueke told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We haven’t lost yet, we haven’t conceded yet [under Thomas Tuchel]. Grounds for optimism.
“Today wasn’t as everyone would have hoped in terms of the scoreline, but we won the game.
“My job is to create and score goals. I was able to create one today so I’m pleased.
“He [Tuchel] is very intense. very clear with what he wants. He has high standards. He doesn’t allow anyone to drop under them. That’s the kind of coach that will benefit England.
“We’re not stupid, we know the scoreline isn’t the one we wanted to have. I thought there were good parts of the performance. It’s not all doom and gloom. There are positives to take.”
Twitter users reacted as Tuchel criticises England players’ attitude, condemns the Keir Starmer chants, and responds to boos…
@heyit5sam: Slow and poor performance but it’s June. These players started for the season last July. You can’t have it both ways. The top clubs wanted extra games, now suffer the repercussions of these decisions
@derby1884: The only time I ever want to see Jordan Henderson in an England shirt again is at Soccer Aid.
@Adamfpeek: Finally an England manager who says it how it is….
@AndrewTurmer: Maybe don’t pick exhausted players like Reece and Palmer whose seasons went longer than others in the squad then. Maresca – and Boehly – warned him about our players being tired and playing too many games. Tuchel ignored them and that horrific performance was the result.
@KPVFC10: And people are criticising him and saying he’s not the man for the job 😂😂 Give the man time.
@Sophthecatsmum: Fair enough, at least he called it as it is. Andorra made it as hard as they could & defended like their lives depended on it so England had to work much harder to score. Once they did though, I thought more goals would come & the fact they didn’t, TT was spot on. 👍
@joacie: Yep. He’s called it right. There’s a good few in there who think they’re all that and just don’t give enough. Bellingham is one. Used to like him, think he’s a bit too entitled and insolent for his own good these days.
@glenmccooke: I love this attitude from Tuchel
@jhallwood: He’s the one who hyped up the change in approach he’d bring. So far it’s just been more of the same, if at the lacklustre end of the spectrum.
@WestHamPlace: Andorra have players who play in the 5th tier of the Spanish leagues For context, that’s the equivalent of England’s National League (non-league) Tuchel picked an awful team including Henderson in midfield and it really is just awful Life’s too short for this shit.
@GaryKirby28: Every time I say I’m not going to watch an @England qualifier as it’s always so dull and boring. Yet I always do. And regret it 90%+ of the time! Same again today. Needs a spark. I see MGW is on the bench. Just saying Tuchel 😉 #NFFC
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