England manager Thomas Tuchel was seen in a heated exchange with Jordan Pickford during the first half of their opening World Cup fixture against Croatia. In a chaotic 45 minutes featuring four goals, a retaken penalty and VAR drama, the German boss still found time to clash with one of his own players.
Tuchel's Frustration with Pickford's Distribution
Tuchel seemed irritated with his number one's distribution very early on in the game. After just 17 minutes, while the Three Lions were leading 1-0, he berated Pickford for failing to follow his instructions.
The keeper played out from the back in the wrong direction and seemed to suggest he was off-balance, but that explanation did little to satisfy the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager.
Sideline Reporter Witnesses the Incident
Geoff Shreeves, working for FOX as a sideline reporter in the US at the World Cup, witnessed the incident unfold before him.
He said: "Just now Jordan Pickford was on his left side and off balance and still picked up. Thomas Tuchel was straight out to the touchline and said 'no, put it out to the right back, you don't go that side'."
"Pickford had a little go back and Tuchel was not impressed. He told him 'you know what you're supposed to do, do as I told you'."
First Half Goals Conceded
And Tuchel won't have been happy that his goalkeeper conceded two goals before the half-time whistle, the first from Martin Baturina with a curled strike on the edge of the box, followed by Peter Musa's neat finish after a clever header back from Ivan Perisic.
