Thomas Tuchel accused England’s supporters of failing to match their team’s stylish display after a 3-0 victory over Wales on a night of contrasting atmospheres and one-sided scorelines in European football.
At Wembley, England looked irresistible in the first half as Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins and Bukayo Saka all struck inside the opening 20 minutes.
For Tuchel, the performance was further evidence of a side gathering momentum under his stewardship, following September’s 5-0 demolition of Serbia in a key World Cup qualifier.
Yet the German coach was left deflated by what he perceived as a lack of energy from the stands.
“We did very, very well,” Tuchel told ITV afterwards. “We were 3-0 up very quickly but could have been four or five. Then we couldn’t score the fourth or the fifth and the stadium was silent. Silent! We never got any energy back from the fans. The players delivered a lot to get more from them.”
The contrast could hardly have been sharper. A 7,000-strong contingent of travelling Wales fans sang non-stop, despite watching their team outclassed. By comparison, large sections of the home support resorted to throwing paper aeroplanes across the pitch in the second half, before drifting away long before the final whistle.
Tuchel, who has won six of his seven games since succeeding Gareth Southgate, sought to clarify his remarks later in the press conference. “Good moment to explain myself. First of all, I said the support in Serbia was absolutely fantastic when we played last time. I meant it. I love English football and I love English football fans. But I think today the atmosphere did not match the performance on the field.”
The 51-year-old may have been more sensitive to the reception after being jeered in Nottingham in June, when England slumped to a surprise defeat against Senegal in a friendly. But with a place at next year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico within reach, he said he expected the travelling support in Riga for Tuesday’s qualifier against Latvia to provide a very different soundtrack.
“We will do everything again to be infectious. There is no problem,” Tuchel said. “I’m sure we will get everyone going. But today I was a little underwhelmed.”
England’s display was all the more encouraging given the absence of key figures. Captain Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden were all missing, yet Tuchel’s side delivered fluency and cutting edge. “We could use Harry all the time, but we need to play without Harry and Jude, the guys are injured. I think we played an excellent first half,” he added.
While Wembley struggled to ignite, goals flowed elsewhere across the continent. Austria produced the most eye-catching result of the night, thrashing San Marino 10-0 to remain top of Group H. Veteran forward Marko Arnautovic scored four times, overtaking Toni Polster to become his country’s all-time record scorer with 45 goals.
The win was Austria’s fifth in succession in qualifying and opened up a two-point gap over Bosnia-Herzegovina, who conceded a stoppage-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Cyprus. With a game in hand, Ralf Rangnick’s side are firmly on course to reach the finals.
The Netherlands, too, took a step closer after brushing aside Malta 4-0 in Amsterdam. Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo struck twice, Tijjani Reijnders added another and Memphis Depay extended his national-record tally to 53 goals. The Dutch now sit three points ahead of both Poland and Finland in Group G, though the Finns have played a game more.
In Copenhagen, Denmark were ruthless in a 6-0 thrashing of Belarus, with Napoli striker Rasmus Hojlund continuing his prolific year by scoring twice in the first half. Anders Dreyer also netted a brace as the Danes maintained top spot, ahead of Scotland only on goal difference.
At Hampden Park, Scotland needed fortune and resilience to overcome Greece 3-1. Despite being second-best for long spells and falling behind to a Kostas Tsimikas strike, goals from Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson and Lyndon Dykes – the last gifted by a dreadful goalkeeping error – kept Steve Clarke’s side on track for a return to the global stage.
Elsewhere, Croatia were held 0-0 by the Czech Republic in Prague, but the 2018 runners-up and 2022 semi-finalists remain in control of Group E thanks to a superior goal difference and a game in hand. Wins in their remaining matches against Gibraltar, the Faroe Islands and Montenegro would seal progression. The Faroes climbed to third with a surprise 4-0 victory over Montenegro.
