Thomas Tuchel[1] has bizarrely claimed England[2]‘s sluggish performance against Andorra was a result of the game being played at Villa Park.
The Three Lions were back on the road on Saturday as Wembley was unavailable due to Coldplay[3] concerts taking place this weekend.
With the home of football occupied, Tuchel’s men travelled to the West Midlands where they hosted European minnows Andorra.
England ultimately emerged victorious courtesy of a Declan Rice[4] header and an own-goal from an Andorra defender to move one step closer to next summer’s World Cup, jointly-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada.
However, while England picked up the all-important three points the crowd in attendance appeared to be less than impressed by the performance.
Daily Mail Sport’s Oliver Holt was at Villa Park and remarked that ‘you could hear a pin drop’, such was the lack of atmosphere during the dull encounter[5].
England boss Thomas Tuchel claimed the Villa Park crowd made his side’s win over Andorra ‘difficult’
England secured all three points with a 2-0 win at the home of the Villans on Saturday night
But the Three Lions failed to make the most of their chances in a sluggish performance against the minnows
During the clash a number of abusive chants aimed at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer[6] could be heard from the ground’s Holte End.
Speaking following the game, Tuchel insisted that the lethargic atmosphere inside Villa Park had contributed to an unimpressive performance from his side.
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England’s turgid 2-0 win over glorified ski resort Andorra was a tough watch, writes OLIVER HOLT
‘It’s difficult – it’s a very different crowd to a Premier League crowd,’ the England boss said on ITV.
‘I think we would have got the crowd going, but it’s very different and we know it.
‘But I think the energy was right, quality was there, we should have scored more.’
England are back in action on Tuesday night as they travel to the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade to take on Serbia.
Dusan Tadic’s side are currently unbeaten in World Cup qualifying and defeated Latvia on Saturday with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic getting on the scoresheet.
References
- ^ Thomas Tuchel (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ England (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Coldplay (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Declan Rice (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ lack of atmosphere during the dull encounter (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ aimed at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (www.dailymail.co.uk)