‘Work harder… you’re just standing! Fight!’: Thomas Tuchel’s hydration break rant at England’s stars is revealed by expert lip-reader – as manager lets rip again
Thomas Tuchel demanded more fight and work ethic from his England stars during his explosive mid-match speech against Norway, according to an expert lip reader.
England were largely on top but created precious few chances in the first quarter of their World Cup quarter-final.
Nico O’Reilly struck from close range after Noni Madueke’s fierce cross, but otherwise the Three Lions had little to show for it as they entered the first hydration break.
And Tuchel used the pause as a chance to remind his players of some harsh truths about knockout football.
‘Work harder. Go faster. You are very static. “You’re just standing around,” lip reader Nicola Hickling told Daily Mail Sport. covers.
‘I need to tell you this… listen to the staff.
Thomas Tuchel gave heated instructions to his players during the first hydration break
According to an expert lip reader, he told his players to fight harder and work harder during the first hydration break.
‘We must fight for our positions. Listen to the staff. Keep the ball down. Less pushing, more focus on the ball.
‘You have to go right on corners. Do not come from the front (intended for Gordon 18). Your best position is on the right; this is a fact. Every time you come from the front the ball disappears. Now listen: stay right, stay right.
‘I need everyone’s strength. This is your last chance. If we lose this, we are eliminated. Let’s go!’
Tuchel’s fiery messages have proven to be a useful tool throughout this tournament, but in this case they did not immediately produce the desired result.
Within minutes, John Stones lost the ball in the England penalty area and almost gave Erling Haaland a chance, but Jordan Pickford came flying to save the ball.
Shortly afterwards Haaland’s header found the target and when England tried to counter, Harry Kane lost the ball and Andreas Schjelderup scored the opening goal.
However, England kept the fire within them and were rewarded just before half-time when Jude Bellingham leveled the scores with a brilliant counter-attack.
They maintained this determination until the end; Bellingham added a second in extra time before England denied any hope of a Norwegian comeback.
Jude Bellingham was England’s hero once again as his brace sent them into the semi-finals
He was clever in tracking down a long-range strike and reacted quickest when the ball went out for the winning goal.
Despite this, Tuchel wasn’t too happy with what he saw, with England often looking pale in the scorching Florida heat.
‘We were lucky,’ he told ITV. ‘We have made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. ‘The result is amazing, we are in the last four. It’s great (but) I’m not happy with your performance.’
“In every sense,” Tuchel said when asked why his men were unimpressed. ‘The commitment is there, but we made life very, very difficult for us with the way we played, the way we played. Sloppy, tactical mistakes, not fast enough. Not repetitive enough. “We were lucky enough.”
Bellingham seemed to be singing from a different hymn sheet.
When asked if the criticism was justified, he said: ‘Maybe.’ ‘But maybe he (Tuchel) doesn’t know what it’s like to play against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa and Sorloth in such conditions. It is not an easy team to play against.
‘So I think we’re trying to create a positive environment. We have to keep this going until the last four. I can’t speak highly enough about the young people. You can’t win every game by throwing the ball and making 1000 passes. ‘Sometimes you have to win dirty and we did that again tonight.’
When Tuchel learned of his talisman’s comments, he immediately played the role of peacemaker.
‘No one is suggesting that I am not impressed by the change, the effort, the spirit and the belief they have put forth,’ he said.
Andreas Schjelderup stunned England with a superb opening goal from long range
Jordan Pickford could only watch as Schjelderup’s cross hit the post and flew into the net
Bellingham was surrounded by four Norwegian players but scored an excellent goal to make it 1-1.
England fans across the country, both in the US and England, celebrated Bellingham’s goals
‘Overcoming challenges, digging in and finding ways to win is absolutely at the highest level. They can’t get enough credit for this. But I’m also a football coach and I think we can play better.’
Tuchel also praised his side’s resilience, adding for good measure that he was ‘in love’ with his charges.
‘There’s no doubt that I’m proud, I’m happy and I feel very committed to this team because they’re doing whatever it takes,’ he said.
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