3 h. ago We weren’t happy – Thomas Tuchel won’t pull punches when criticising England

Tuchel’s side have plenty of work to do judging by Saturday’s forgettable 1-0 win against minnows Andorra.

Politics

3 h. ago Thomas Tuchel responds to critics after dismal England win with hint on next starting XI

Thomas Tuchel saw his England side scrape past minnows Andorra in their third World Cup qualification match, with the German insisting he is ready for the pressure coming his way

Politics

25 h. ago Thomas Tuchel tears into lacklustre England: ‘I didn’t like the attitude’

Kane’s goal secures 1-0 win over minnows Andorra‘We lacked seriousness. I didn’t like the body language’Thomas Tuchel admitted England had “played with fire” in their 1-0 win over Andorra, risking the concession of an equaliser and a draw that would have registered as perhaps their greatest humiliation since defeat to the USA in 1950. “I felt it was like a cup game where the favourites don’t see the danger,” he said.England won thanks to Harry Kane’s 50th-minute goal, leaving them top of the group on nine points without having conceded a goal. No previous England manager has ever begun with three successive victories to nil, but Tuchel was clearly very unhappy with the performance. Continue reading...

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26 h. ago Thomas Tuchel agrees with Roy Keane in worrying assessment of his England players

Thomas Tuchel openly criticised his players after England laboured to an uninspiring 1-0 win over minnows Andorra in their World Cup qualifier in Barcelona on Saturday

Sport

26 h. ago England were dismal against minnows Andorra but it really doesn’t matter | Jonathan Wilson

Tuchel’s target is to win the World Cup and a scintillating performance would not have made lifting the prize in New Jersey any more likelyHow bad was it? Bad enough to be England’s worst result in seven games against Andorra. Bad enough for players used to operating at the highest of levels for the best clubs in the world to find themselves unable to weight simple passes or deliver crosses with precision. Bad enough that Andorra’s 37-year-old left-back Marc García nutmegged Noni Madueke in injury time. But, beyond the potential problems it may cause with goal difference, it doesn’t matter at all in terms of the main issue: the winning of the World Cup next summer.England could have played scintillating football and beaten Andorra 10-0 and it wouldn’t have made them any more likely to be lifting the prize in New Jersey next July. That’s not to excuse a dismal performance, just to say it’s irrelevant. The game was won, the box ticked, and Thomas Tuchel hopefully learned something fro...

Politics

26 h. ago Harry Kane sends instant demand to Thomas Tuchel after dismal England display vs Andorra

Harry Kane was the hero for England as they just about managed to squeeze past Andorra in Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match-up and has sent a message to his boss over his squad

Politics

50 h. ago Thomas Tuchel wants ‘relentless’ England performance against minnows Andorra

After the German coach’s reign began with Wembley wins against Albania and Latvia.

Politics

3 w. ago What Donald Trump did this week should terrify Benjamin Netanyahu. This is why | Jonathan Freedland

The president’s Middle East tour made one thing clear – he will betray his one-time ally in a heartbeat. He is already doing it It’s come to something when the Palestinians’ best hope for relief rests on a man who dreams of emptying Gaza of its people and turning the place into a beach resort. And yet the clearest, and perhaps only, way out of the current agony lies with Donald Trump – and his growing impatience with an ever-more isolated Israel.If this were any of Trump’s predecessors, you would be hailing the past week as confirmation of a radical, even epochal shift in US foreign policy. But because it’s Trump, you can’t be sure it’s not a passing whim that will be undone in another equally drastic shift a matter of weeks, or even hours, from now.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Arsenal’s statistical victories only hide some very obvious flaws | Jonathan Wilson

Mikel Arteta has explanations for his team’s shortcomings that may hold water, but ultimately the Gunners simply couldn’t get it done when neededSign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson hereThe problem is that when the game doesn’t matter, other elements begin to take over. In other circumstances, Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday would have been an intriguing minor classic; but then, in other circumstances, it might not have gone like that. As it was, with the title won and Arsenal secure in the Champions League qualification slots, a clash between the top two became the stage for discussion of the booing of Trent Alexander-Arnold and a weird confected online fury about whether Myles Lewis-Skelly had applauded Liverpool with sufficient gusto in the guard of honour.At least, from Arsenal’s point of view, the game followed the opposite pattern to the one with which we’ve become familiar. Arsenal have dropped 21 points from winning positions this season (Liverpool just 13), whi...

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