Thomas Tuchel denies he’s picking on Djed Spence as England rants explained | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel denied he is singling out Djed Spence for criticism after he was seen screaming at the England defender during Tuesday’s goalless draw against Ghana.

Having destroyed Croatia with a stunning second-half display full of high-octane, free-flowing football in their World Cup, the Three Lions came crashing back down to earth with a listless display in Boston.

Having made a positive contribution from the bench against Croatia, Spence was handed his first start at a major tournament against the Black Stars.

While hardly a disaster, in a contest where England were stifled by disciplined opponents, Spence was replaced by Nico O’Reilly midway through the second half, but not before he appeared to have attracted plenty of unwanted attention from Tuchel.

The England coach had been spotted urging Spence to ‘wake up’ during an open training session days before the match and was apparently unhappy with the 25-year-old Tottenham star again shortly before his substitution.

Explaining his exasperation, Tuchel said: “I wanted him to be more engaged in the attacking phase. To start our attacks a bit wider and to have more runs through the last line.

“Overall, it was his first start for England in a major tournament and I always put it into perspective. I have to scream because nobody hears me otherwise. It’s all good with Djed.

“We brought on O’Reilly and it almost paid off with a header and a big chance for Harry.”

Tuchel actually trying to ‘help’ Spence

Tuchel’s high-profile lambasting of Spence has led to some suggestions that the defender is being picked on by the German, however, former England midfielder Jack Wilshere has dismissed that notion.

Indeed, the Luton Town boss told talkSPORT: “I think it’s quite normal. When we were growing up, we used to get screamed at, and we just took it.

“It’s kind of now gone through that period of coaching where there’s a little bit more of an arm round [a player]…

“I think it’s very individual. You know the players that you can do that to; I think you know the players that don’t need it and know when they’re probably not doing what they should be doing.

“I saw the clip from training as well when Tuchel was shouting, ‘Wake up!’ to Djed. I also saw Djed’s comments and he’s like, ‘Yeah, it’s normal; he’s a top coach; he demands a lot’.

“I think he’ll know the ones [he needs to remind]. You probably won’t see him doing that to Harry Kane, because Harry Kane knows, and it’s probably the same with Dec [Declan Rice].

“But there are certain players that can switch off; they can lose focus a little bit. That’s him trying to help Djed, so I don’t see a problem with it.”