Tuchel Criticizes 'Silent' England Fans During Wales Victory

England manager Thomas Tuchel voiced his dissatisfaction with the home crowd following his team's dominant 3-0 friendly victory over Wales at Wembley. Tuchel described the atmosphere as "silent," lamenting the lack of energy from the England supporters.

The 7,000 Wales fans in attendance made their presence known, singing loudly and providing support for their team throughout the match. Despite England's early goals, scored within the first 20 minutes, the home crowd failed to generate the same level of enthusiasm.

Tuchel addressed the issue post-match, stating, "The stadium was silent. We didn't get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win. If you hear just Wales fans for half an hour, it's sad because the team deserved more support today."

During his press conference, Tuchel defended his comments, acknowledging past praise for England's support. "I have said the support in Serbia was absolutely fantastic. I said it and I meant it. I love English football fans and the support they give. The atmosphere did not match the performance on the field today."

Tuchel also expressed his confidence in future support, mentioning, "We will have top support in Latvia, we had excellent support in Serbia. But today we were 3-0 up after 20 minutes, we had ball win after ball win and I felt, 'why is the roof still on the stadium?' It could have helped us in some moments in the second half."

Wales head coach Craig Bellamy admitted his team faced a challenging start, conceding three goals within the first 20 minutes. He reflected on the experience, stating, "The first 20 minutes were tough. It's a very difficult place to come without starting the way we did. Made it very difficult for ourselves. Their intensity, physicality, they were able to push through that as well."

Bellamy acknowledged the learning opportunity from the defeat, emphasizing the importance of resilience and teamwork. "We had to suffer a lot of pain. Monday is a different game. We'll learn from this. We don't want this feeling again."

Despite the loss, Bellamy remained optimistic about his team's preparations for their upcoming World Cup qualifier against Belgium. He concluded, "When you get your a** kicked you learn the most. And I got my a** kicked!"

England's victory was secured by goals from Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, and Bukayo Saka, who curled a stunning third goal into the top corner. The match served as a crucial test ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaigns for both teams.