Gary Lineker has labelled Thomas Tuchel’s claims that England fans don’t bring the World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina up to him as ‘complete nonsense’.
Lineker hits back at Tuchel's claim
England were leading heading into the final stages of the last-four clash against Argentina, but surrendered their advantage and were denied a spot in the final. Critics slammed Tuchel’s negative approach to defending the lead, with the German criticised for his defence-minded substitutions.
However, the ex-Chelsea gaffer insisted the England fans he’s bumped into since the semi-final don’t mention the Argentina match and instead prefer to speak about the Mexico win and other England victories from the tournament.
But Lineker, who was part of the England team that reached the 1990 World Cup semi-finals, isn’t having any of it. Instead, Lineker has suggested that it’s nonsense, with the former striker telling the Rest is Football: “I thought that was complete nonsense! Absolutely everyone was talking about that at the time and everyone had their question marks about his substitutions! And then to just dismiss it and [say] ‘No, the only thing that people remember are a couple of goals against Croatia and that great game against Mexico’. I thought that was a bit odd.”
What did Thomas Tuchel say about England fans?
Only Tuchel will know if he was telling the truth, but in the build-up to England’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Spain, the manager remarked: “99.9 per cent of the fans don’t talk about substitutions, tactical tweaks or tactical details. They speak about where they watched the Mexico game, and they speak about the second-half energy of the Croatia match.
“They speak about how nerve-racking it was to watch our match against Congo and where they celebrated. This is the feedback I get. This is what we created, and how it should be. This is what a World Cup is for: to connect with people and give them experiences they do not forget.”
Adding: “It makes me proud; it makes me happy. Even if it’s just in a cab, at a coffee shop or in the supermarket, you share these little moments and understand that it actually meant something. It showed that what the players built was transmitted, and it’s what we want to build on.”
England's upcoming fixtures
After the Spain match, England face back-to-back away matches against Czechia and Croatia. After that, it’s the return fixture against Czechia, with matches against Croatia and Spain to come in the November international break.
