Thomas Tuchel has come under fire from legendary sportscaster Jeff Stelling after two members of the most recent England squad did not play a minute against either Latvia or Albania. Tuchel won both of the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches to begin his tenure as England’s manager.
At Wembley, they defeated Latvia 3-0 on Monday after a resounding 2-0 triumph over Albania on Friday. Before halftime, Chelsea’s Reece James broke the tie with a beautiful free kick. Then, halfway through the second half, Eberechi Eze and Harry Kane added glitz to the score.
After the victory over Latvia, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane remarked of Tuchel’s first game as England manager, “If this were a school report, you’d give him a would be a C+.” “I believe he has a lot more in store. The two games on paper seemed really simple to me.
“The manager is off to a terrific start, but after tonight’s 27 shots, you knew he would win both games. Many things need to be improved. At least the subs appeared and had an impact on the game, even though the final result wasn’t that fantastic. But everything seemed OK to me. It was alright.
"If it were a school report you'd give them a C+" 📚
How do you rate England's first two games under Thomas Tuchel? 👇#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/RmdJ20PYr6
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 24, 2025
Stelling Questions Why Tuchel Didn’t Use Two Players
Gibbs-White and Solanke failed to get any minutes
Although many England supporters are thrilled by Tuchel’s early success as manager, Stelling is demanding explanations after the esteemed German coach did not start Dominic Solanke or Morgan Gibbs-White in either qualifier.
After Chelsea’s Cole Palmer sustained an injury, Gibbs-White, who has been one of the Premier League’s best midfielders this season for third-place Nottingham Forest, was added to Tuchel’s side. On the morning of the Albania game, Tuchel, however, removed three players, including the 25-year-old, off the final 23-man roster.
Statistics for Gibbs-White and Solanke in the 2024–25 Premier League
White-Gibbs
The Solanke
Looks
25
20
Objectives
5.
7.
Helps
7.
3.
Significant Opportunities Generated
8.
6.
Gains
14
6.
Losses
5.
11.
Tuchel chose to use players like Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson in place of Gibbs-White, who was named as a substitute for the Latvia match but was unable to add to his two caps.
Thomas Tuchel, then. On X (previously Twitter), Stelling commented, “Two victories in a row.” I’m not a Forest supporter, but could you please explain why Morgan Gibbs White received no minutes? Dominic Solanke, too?
https://twitter.com/JeffStelling/status/1904297413914787975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1904297413914787975%7Ctwgr%5E5a2ecc8cec51ee71298ebd4835d6c99029b4fe05%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givemesport.com%2Fjeff-stelling-questions-thomas-tuchel-treatment-two-england-players%2F
In both qualifiers, Solanke, who has 11 goals in 33 outings for Tottenham this season, was not utilised as a replacement. Tuchel started Harry Kane, 31, for the entire ninety minutes against Albania and Latvia rather than examining the former Bournemouth star.
In response, Kane scored in both qualifiers, increasing his total number of goals for his country to 71. On England’s all-time top goalscorers chart, the Bayern Munich star currently leads Wayne Rooney by 18 goals.
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