Tuchel criticises Rashford among England trio as Keane believes they’re ‘in trouble’

Thomas Tuchel was happy with England’s performance in their 2-0 win over Andorra but was critical of three of his forwards, while Roy Keane explained why he thinks the Three Lions are “in trouble”

England predictably enjoyed the vast majority of possession at Villa Park against their lowly opponents and comfortably won the game to make it four wins from four in their World Cup qualifiers, but it was another forgettable display, as has so far been the case in each of the games under the German boss.

A Christian Garcia own goal gave England the lead in the first half following a cross from Noni Madueke in the fir, who was among the positives again for Tuchel, before Declan Rice headed in from a fine Reece James to ensure victory midway through the second period.

READ MORE: England player ratings v Andorra: Anderson and Madueke impress but CBs and Rashford struggle

Tuchel said in his programme notes that he wanted “a spark at Villa Park” and believes he got it from his players on Saturday.

“The energy was right, quality was right and we should have scored more,” he said. “After the first goal I think we had ten or 15 minutes with too many ball losses and lost the focus and concentration, but we found it again in the second half and created a lot of chances.”

Tuchel could barely contain his smile as he hailed Elliot Anderson’s “very, very good” performance as England’s No.6 but was critical of the three forwards playing behind Harry Kane.

He added: “Ebz [Eberechi Eze] didn’t have his best day in the No.10 position. He trained so well in the decision-making but struggled a little bit. Last pass from Noni [Madueke], last decision, was not clinical enough. Marcus Rashford had some good moments but couldn’t finish them with a clinical assist.

“It’s stuff that can happen against a narrow 5-4-1. We could have perhaps scored the second goal earlier because the second gave us more freedom as players moved more freely and with a bit more confidence.”

READ MORE: Elliot Anderson runs the England midfield like he did for Newcastle vs Leeds

Roy Keane was similarly impressed with Anderson’s display but also revealed why England are “in trouble”.

He said: “[Elliot] Anderson did very well. Obviously it was an easy game for him because he was always going to have a lot of possession.

“I think Bill Shankly said years ago that a time to judge a player is when he has time on the ball regarding decision making and the pace of a pass, the type of pass and he definitely had an impact.”

He added: “If you can’t play with freedom against teams like Andorra, you’re in trouble. I still think England were still a little bit tight in their passing.”