England manager Thomas Tuchel was seen sweating and ranting on the touchline as his men desperately clung on in injury time for a historic 3-2 victory over Mexico last night. A lipreader has now revealed what the German boss said as he anxiously awaited the final whistle inside Azteca Stadium in a performance hailed as England's best at a World Cup since 1966.
Tuchel's outburst captured on camera
Tuchel was feeling the pressure as his side, reduced to ten men after Jarell Quansah's red card, battled to fight back waves of attacks from the hosts. At one point, cameras picked up an outburst from Tuchel in the 94th minute, after Jude Bellingham was judged to have committed a foul.
Nicola Hickling, expert analyst and professional lip reader at Covers.com, claims Tuchel said: "F***ing crazy, I need a pint man! God help me through this." His pleas for a pint no doubt echoed the feelings of England fans, both in the stadium and those who stayed up until the early hours to watch the game.
Tempers flare on the touchline
England assistant Anthony Barry was also spotted getting animated towards the Mexico bench moments before the VAR review that saw Quansah's foul reviewed as tempers escalated. So much had gone right for England up to that point, with Jude Bellingham scoring two goals 98 seconds apart before Mexico pulled one back just before half-time.
But tensions boiled over five minutes into the second half when Quansah's rash challenge was initially waved away by the referee. Barry was in the thick of the touchline spat as he defended his teammates.
Dramatic second half
England went 3-1 up after captain Harry Kane converted his spot-kick following a foul on Anthony Gordon, before Mexico got a penalty of their own after Kane was deemed to have fouled Brian Gutierrez. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford dived the right way, but Wolves striker Raul Jimenez converted the penalty to make it 3-2 just before the second half hydration break.
Tuchel made a number of defensive changes as England desperately tried to hang onto their advantage, repelling a relentless onslaught from Mexico in the closing stages. The relief was palpable at the final whistle as England secured a historic victory.
