England fans made their feelings known during the World Cup qualifier against Latvia in Riga, responding to recent criticism from manager Thomas Tuchel about a lack of atmosphere. After Tuchel described the stadium as “silent” during the 3-0 win over Wales last Thursday, travelling supporters broke into chants of “Are we loud enough for you?” within minutes of the match starting.
The crowd also sang “Thomas Tuchel, we’ll sing what we want!” and “Thomas, give us a song!” in a playful challenge to the German manager. Tuchel acknowledged the fans with a wave, which was met with cheers from the away end.
Later in the match, supporters directed abuse at former England international Gary Neville, reportedly chanting “w*****” after he revealed he had taken down a Union Jack flag at one of his development sites and expressed concerns about division caused by “angry white men” in the UK.
Tuchel had criticised the atmosphere at Wembley during the Wales match, saying: “The stadium was silent. We never got any energy back from the fans. If you just hear Wales fans, it's a bit sad.” He added that he stood by his statement despite the backing in Latvia, where England secured a 5-0 victory to qualify for the World Cup.
