Thomas Tuchel wanted ‘more impact’ from Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford: ‘It was missing’ | OneFootball

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said he wanted “more impact” from his wide players and said Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford were not as “decisive” as they could have been in his first game in charge against Albania.

Tuchel explained that he wanted more “dribbling” and “aggressive runs” and said elements of Foden and Rashford’s performances were “missing” in the 2-0 win over Albania at Wembley.

Overall, Tuchel said England “can do better” and “have to better” in future matches after goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane gave England a winning start in their World Cup qualifying campaign.

But the German was fairly critical of Foden and Rashford’s nights, with Anthony Gordon and Jarrod Bowen called to replace them from the bench midway through the second half.

When asked about Foden and Rashford, Tuchel told ITV: “We hoped for more impact in these positions; we tried Anthony and Jarrod.

"I hoped for more impact, more dribbling, less passes, more dribbling, and more aggressive runs towards the box. I think in general that was missing.

“I think all the chances came from little diagonal runs behind the line. Jude [Bellingham] had some good runs in the first half. Myles scored from it. Kyle [Walker] had one.

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Tuchel sent on Gordon and Bowen in the second half (The FA via Getty Images)

“It was a bit missing [ from the wide players]. They were not as decisive as they can be."

Tuchel said afterwards that Foden and Rashford “deserved” the opportunity to play and had been “decisive” in training.

“I think both of our wingers were not as impactful as they normally can be - as they are in club football,” he said during his post-match press conference.

“At the moment I’m not sure why we couldn’t get the ball quicker to them, and to a more open position. I need to review the match. I’m not sure why it took us so long.

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Rashford made his first England appearance since March 2024 (The FA via Getty Images)

“I think we lacked runs off the ball. It was a bit too much passing, not enough dribbling, not enough carrying and driving with the ball. It was not aggressive enough towards goal.

“They trained very well. They were decisive in training. That’s why I thought they deserved [to play] and they were very good in the last few weeks with their clubs.

“We will keep on encouraging them and create a structure for them that can allow them to show their potential.”

Tuchel had only four days to work with his new players but said England’s performance was “too slow” in the second half. The night was not a comfortable one for Tuchel until Kane doubled their lead on 77 minutes.

"We can do better, we have to do better,” he added. “We started well, we had seven to eight minutes with 100 per cent ball possession with a lot of passes and high energy.

" But the opponent is hard to break down as they defend in a deep block. In the Euros they managed to not concede chances. In the second half, I felt we were too slow and in general not enough runs off the ball to get behind the line."