England's Manchester City players may have been distracted by the club's Premier League spending breach case during the defeat to Spain on Saturday, with several stars below their best.
Manchester City were found guilty of breaching Premier League spending rules, and the fallout has dominated football conversation since Friday. The talk has centred on the scale of the punishment, with potential outcomes including relegation, expulsion from the Premier League, and a transfer market ban.
Given the enormity of the story, it would be naive to suggest City's England players would not have been thinking and talking about it. The performance against Spain suggested the City contingent had been distracted.
Under-par performances
Elliot Anderson was well below his recent high standards at Wembley against Spain. Facing high-class opponents made it more difficult for him to play his game. For City lately, Anderson has been getting the ball, protecting it and hitting record numbers of passes. Against Spain, he lost the ball, was crowded out, and was not at his very best.
Marc Guehi, usually so reliable and consistent, ran into trouble - and Lamine Yamal - to gift Spain the opening goal. Guehi was playing a slightly different role, pushing on to Dani Olmo and stepping out, but he does not normally make mistakes. Nico O'Reilly also made an error leading to a goal.
Tuchel's response
Thomas Tuchel denied it was a distraction. Tuchel said: "Not for me but I can imagine maybe for the Manchester City players but for me not and I will not comment on that because it is an ongoing court case so I will not give any comment.
"I didn't make it a topic. It was not a topic for me. I hear the news as the latest person in camp. I was just thinking about Spain and training and meetings and media meetings and individual meetings. Not for me.
"For the players, they have more time than me, they have one training session. I can imagine they talk about it. It is good they do. I didn't feel they were distracted."
Wider impact
The players have likely been talking among themselves, and agents would have been making calls. Some players take international duty very seriously and do not think about club matters, but with a story this big, the potential consequences are significant. City could be out of the Premier League, face Champions League exile, and players might have to move clubs.
Portugal's Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias would have been gossiping, and Erling Haaland has surely been asked about it. A one percent drop in focus makes a big difference in the Premier League and is probably even bigger at international level. Some players have told their nearest and dearest they do not want to think or talk about it, likely because they are sick of thinking about it. It is bound to impact them, and that is why it is hard to believe it did not impact them on Saturday - and is a concern for the rest of this round of Nations League games.
