Tribal Football

Tuchel hated England's "freestyle" football as 3 stars impressed him against New Zealand

Tuchel hated England's "freestyle" football as 3 stars impressed him against New Zealand
Tuchel hated England's "freestyle" football as 3 stars impressed him against New ZealandIMAGN IMAGES via Reuters

England boss Thomas Tuchel has spoken after the narrow 1-0 win over New Zealand.

England captain Harry Kane grabbed yet another goal as he netted in Saturday’s friendly win over New Zealand as the Three Lions prepare for the World Cup. 

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Tuchel’s side starts their World Cup campaign on 17th June against Croatia, before also facing Ghana and Panama in the group stage but first must face Costa Rica in their final friendly. 

England were underwhelming against New Zealand and failed to impress fans heading into the tournament where Tuchel admits his side must stick to the game plan and his particular tactics. 

"I don't think the performance was that bad. These were the hottest conditions England have faced so far - 35 degrees - and it was bound to be disjointed as he played two different XIs. These games are never blockbusters. 

 "I was really impressed with Djed Spence, Marcus Rashford looked in the mood and Jude Bellingham was a Rolls Royce when he came on." 

"I'm OK with it. I'm not super happy about it. I liked the second half more than the first half. 

"The first half we were out of positions and it was a bit too much freestyle. That slowed our game down and made it difficult for counter-press because we were not in the positions that we wanted to be when we started attacking, so that's basically the story of the match." 

Tuchel has come under fire since announcing his 26-man squad for the tournament, leaving out several big names which may come back to bite him as performances fail to improve. 

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