
Thomas Tuchel did not stop himself in his assessment of the performance of Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden during his first game that was in charge of England.
New boss Tuchel started a winning start at Wembley and led the three lions to a 2-0 win over Albania, but he still felt that there was enough to work on.
The German manager put his confidence in Marcus Rashford by giving the attacker a first England start since November 2023, after his return to form on loan in Aston Villa.
While Phil Foden also got the kink from the off, despite the wrestling for Man City this season and failed to have a tangible impact for England at Euro 2024.
Those decisions did not pay, where both Rashford and Foden were replaced by Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon in the 74th minute.
And Tuchel gave his brutal honest thoughts about why it didn't work with the couple that started on the wings.
He said, “I think both Wingers who started [Foden and Rashford] Were not as impactful as normally, or as they are normally in club football.
“At the moment I am not sure why we have trouble bringing the ball to them faster and bringing the ball into more open positions for them. I have to judge the match.
“I am not so sure why it took us so long. I think we were missing a bit, runs off the ball. So it was a bit too much past and not dribbling enough.
'Don't wear the ball enough and drive with the ball. Not aggressively enough in the direction of goal.
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“They trained very well, they were very decisive in training – that's why I think they deserved it [to start]. They were also very good in recent weeks for their clubs.
“We will continue to encourage them and ensure that they create a structure for them in which they can show their potential.”
Rashford has managed four assists for Villa in nine performances since he got on loan from Man Utd in January.
While Foden has scored 10 goals and has registered six assists in 38 performances for Man City this period.
Tuchel has strong opinions about what his team can do more to improve in the future.
“We were not disciplined in the structure,” he said. “We have tried a little too much alone and out of possession.
“It was a liquid game in half of the opponent, but not on the last 20 meters. We have to take more risk with broken balls behind the line.
“I felt that there was more frustration in the second half, we could not play in our structure and it became more complicated. We have to play through people and find a better rhythm.
“We get better. We will understand better and I will better understand the players to find more aggressive movements.”
It was debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly who opened the score for the reign of Tuchel and on 18-year-old and 176 days the youngest debut position in England ever became.
While Harry Kane usually appeared with a goal to close the deal to a 2-0 win for the three lions.
Tuchel will now look ahead to Monday's collision with Andorra, where Wembley plays the second World Cup qualifying match in the four -day room.
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