Thomas Tuchel has admitted he has spoken to Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford after their struggles in England's win over Albania
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Manchester United loannee Marcus Rashford struggled to make an impact on his return to the England squad
Manchester United loannee Marcus Rashford struggled to make an impact on his return to the England squad
(Image: (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images))
Thomas Tuchel has spoken to Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford regarding their subdued performances in his debut match as the England manager, yet he emphasised that both players still have his complete confidence.
Taking over from Sir Gareth Southgate, Tuchel kicked off his tenure with a 2-0 win against Albania at a packed Wembley Stadium on Friday evening. Myles Lewis-Skelly opened the scoring on his debut before captain Harry Kane notched up his tally to an impressive 70 goals.
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Despite the victory marking a positive start to the World Cup qualifiers, Tuchel was left wanting more, particularly from Foden and Rashford, whom he expected to be more "impactful" on the wings.
"I think they know (what more I want from them)," the head coach remarked ahead of Monday's qualifier against Latvia. "I've spoken to both of them, also in front of the group. They know that I appreciate the effort, I think especially off the ball.
"Marcus had a lot of runs when we had the ball where we did not see him, where we did not use him. He was a little bit unlucky maybe with the timing and from time to time we oversaw him.
"Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have but both of them are very positive, they have every right to be positive and know exactly what we want from them."
Tuchel is keen to create more one-on-one opportunities for them and help them regain the level of confidence that seemed to be missing from Rashford's play before his loan move to Aston Villa from Manchester United.
Phil Foden joined England following a demanding season with Manchester City, where he previously secured the PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year accolades.
Despite his domestic success, the 24-year-old has struggled to make the same impact for the national team. Following his recent performance on the right wing, pundit Roy Keane commented that Foden "won't have that problem coming up of where he wants to play because he won't be playing".
Looking forward to the next game against Latvia, Tuchel is considering possible changes to the line-up, noting that some players are feeling the toll of the previous match with Albania. Anthony Gordon has had to return home due to a bruised hip that significantly affected his mobility.
"He [Gordon] had a good chance to start and I'm sad that he is now out," Tuchel informed BBC Radio 5 Live.
"He was so happy to play and get some minutes for us. He had a red card, then he got sick – he came a bit late into camp – and gets his minutes and gets straightaway injured.
"I'm sad for him but we cannot change it and I think he still needs a couple of days rest, so he's with his family now to get the rest and we find other solutions."