‘I can take it’ – Tuchel responds to England fans’ chants and hails ‘brilliant’ support after securing World Cup qualification | OneFootball

England boss Thomas Tuchel hailed the “brilliant” support from the travelling fans after his side booked their place at next year’s World Cup with a 5-0 victory against Latvia.

Tuchel criticised the England fans at Wembley during his team’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales last time out, saying his side “didn’t get any energy back from the stands”.

England fans in Latvia responded to Tuchel’s comments by singing “Are we loud enough for you?”, but the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss saw the funny side.

“I got a bit of stick today in the first half,” Tuchel laughed.

“I was almost in every song so fair enough, well done, I take it, and a good sense of humour. I accept it.

“They had a reason today, for my last comments, and like I said it’s fair enough. I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative.

“It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It’s British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done.

“It’s so important that they are here. I said it last time, in Serbia it was brilliant and the support today was brilliant, and we are very sure that the support in America will be absolutely brilliant and we need it. It makes such a difference if you go out as a player or a coach and you see the fans behind the team and fans singing.

“This is also part of what we do. We want to make them proud, we want to make them happy. They should be happy to watch us and they should be able to identify with how we play.

“I think we’re on our way to building something and it was a top performance from them today as well.”

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for England against Latvia before a Harry Kane double, an own goal and a late Ebere Eze strike ensured it was a comfortable night for the Three Lions.

“Now is the moment to enjoy it,” Tuchel said on qualifying for the World Cup. “You can feel it in the dressing room, I can feel it myself but in the dressing room it is all smiles.

“It’s a very special moment, it’s not daily business that you qualify for a World Cup.

“Harry (Kane) gave a speech where he said everyone will be ready to keep this going in November. No on will step back or lean back and take anything for granted, so they feel that they are building something.”