Thomas Tuchel begs FIFA to make urgent World Cup change after England’s first win
Thomas Tuchel made the plea to FIFA following England's 4-2 win over Croatia in Arlington, Texas.
England boss Thomas Tuchel has begged FIFA to make a swift change to pre-match proceedings after his first experience managing at the World Cup was “ruined a little bit”.
A Champions League winner with Chelsea, Tuchel ticked another major achievement off the list when he managed in the World Cup for the first time on Wednesday night.
He led England to a 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening game at the 2026 showpiece, with Harry Kane bagging a first-half brace and Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford finding the net in the second half.Tuchel and his assistant Anthony Barry were not happy with the first half display for England and demanded improvement in the 45 minutes.But the German was livid before the kick-off when England players gathered around the centre circle and sang the national anthem.
Tuchel did not sing ‘God Save The King’, explaining he would only do so if England were to reach the final.However, he was not happy that he was surrounded by photographers who obstructed his view and denied him the chance to watch any of his players in the “very special moment”.
Images showed Tuchel looking frustrated by the attention he was receiving from photographers and their giant lenses.Tuchel addressed the issue after the game and called for FIFA to step in and force the photographers to move position for the pre-match ceremony in the future.
“I have to tell you something, I am begging Fifa to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem because I could not see my team in the national anthem,” Tuchel said.
“I was waiting for this moment. It was a very, very special moment today and I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, half a metre away, and I could not see one single player. It ruined a little bit my experience.
“It is very emotional. When I was young and when I started coaching, this was too big to dream of this kind of occasion.”Thomas Tuchel was involved in heated row with England player minutes into game
England were 1-0 up early on through a Kane penalty after the skipper’s first spot-kick was saved but a retake was ordered after encroachment by Josko Gvardiol and goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic came off his line.However, early on Tuchel was overheard in a heated exchange with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
According to Geoff Shreeves, who is working as a touchline reporter for Fox during their coverage of the World Cup, Tuchel criticised for Pickford for not following instructions.
It’s claimed he did not pass the ball out from the back as requested and played the ball to the wrong direction while off balance.
Tuchel told Pickford to follow the orders and he had a go back before the former Bayern Munich boss finished the discussion by telling him. ‘Do as I told you’.
Shreeves revealed: “Just now Jordan Pickford was on his left side and off balance and still picked up.
“Thomas Tuchel was straight out to the touchline and said ‘no, put it out to the right back, you don’t go that side’.
“Pickford had a little go back and Tuchel was not impressed. He told him ‘you know what you’re supposed to do, do as I told you.’”
Top of Group L, England return to action on Tuesday when they take on Ghana at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
