Richards calls out bizarre Tuchel call which looks even worse after England beat France 6-4 | OneFootball

Micah Richards has question the decision from England boss Thomas Tuchel not to play Bukayo Saka in the World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina.

The Three Lions beat France in the third-place match to confirm their best World Cup finish since they won it in 1966. They were consigned to the bronze match after losing 2-1 to Argentina in the semi.

England had been 1-0 up but Argentina bagged twice late on to head to the final. There have been questions over Tuchel’s tactics in the game, as he brought on a number of defenders at the back end to shore up the back line instead of going for another goal.

One of the most noticeable absences was Saka, who it’s felt has not been at full fitness in the tournament but has played at last some part in every game but the semi.

Former Three Lions man Richards has questioned why the Arsenal man wasn’t given a single minute against Argentina.

He said on The Rest Is Football: “I understood why Tuchel played Morgan Rogers in that game for the transitions, but for him [Saka] not to come on…

“We’ve been talking about Saka and his fitness. Him and Rice, their fitness all tournament has been a question, but for him not to feature is just bizarre.

“I can’t get my head around why you wouldn’t have Saka.

“The thing is with Saka as well, he gets you fouls and he gets you up the pitch. How many times have you seen him going down the wing and he puts his arm out and then just buys a foul.”

Saka wanted more minutes

Saka claimed after the third-place match that he wanted to play a larger part than what he did in the tournament.

He said: “Of course, I would love to have played more but it’s too late to talk about that. I try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now. So let’s move on. I’m fit.”

The Arsenal winger started the bronze match, though, and scored a hat-trick in his 90 minute outing, showing no signs of a lack of sharpness.

That makes the decision all the more baffling not to play him in the most important game of the tournament, and Alan Shearer has suggested the same.

He said: “We were always told he wasn’t quite right, he wasn’t 100 per cent fit, and if he wasn’t fit then he wasn’t going to start him.

“So yeah, it was strange that he didn’t at least come on in that semi-final and then to start against France. But it was brilliant for him scoring a hat-trick.”