England manager Thomas Tuchel has expressed frustration that he was unable to watch his players sing 'God Save the King' before the 4-2 World Cup victory over Croatia due to a cluster of photographers blocking his view.
Tuchel's Frustration Over Photographers
According to official tournament regulations, photographers must stay behind LED advertising boards and are limited to designated areas behind the goal or adjacent to team benches. However, they are allowed along the touchline during the anthems to capture shots of the teams before kick-off.
Tuchel was unimpressed after his view was obstructed, stating: "I have to tell you something, I'm begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers during the national anthem. I could not see my team during the national anthem and I was waiting for this moment, it was a very, very special moment today. I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, half a metre away and I could not see a single player."
He added: "It ruined a little bit of my experience today, it is very emotional. When I was young, even when I started coaching this was too big to dream of, to have this kind of a career. I'm very grateful for everyone who helped me along the way."
Tuchel's Anthem Stance
As expected, Tuchel did not sing the England national anthem. Ahead of the match, he made it clear he would not participate: "Not yet," he declared at the team's camp in Kansas City. "I think we are not there yet. At the very end [of the tournament], maybe. I am still a bit shy. I don't want to offend people and don't want to have the focus on that now."
When asked if he had learned the words, he replied: "It's not so difficult." Pressed on whether he considered himself an 'Anglophile', he added: "Yeah, it feels like that. I can't explain it but it felt like this from the first weeks at Chelsea. It just felt so good to be in the country and in the city of course, and be a part of the Premier League. Every day was a gift, almost. It just felt like to be in the right place. I cannot say often enough, I'm grateful, and it's an honour for me to be England head coach and nobody wants it more than me."
Tuchel concluded: "I feel basically at home when I land, when I fly home [to England]. I would say now 'I fly home', I fly home to my home in London and it feels like home when I land in London and I'm in England."
