England manager, Thomas Tuchel felt that his team’s performance was “absolutely okay” in a 1-1 draw against Uruguay.
Ben White came on as a substitute to open the scoring with a close-range 81st-minute finish, yet gifted Uruguay an equaliser through a controversial foul on Federico Vinas, which allowed Federico Valverde to salvage a draw from the penalty spot for the visitors at Wembley Stadium, London.
“I’m absolutely okay with our performance,” explained Tuchel post match as he instead focused on the structure and squad rotation. “I liked how we brought the structure to life. We tried and we tried, and we were the better team I think overall.
“We had some big chances from set pieces. The biggest chance was with Dominic Calvert-Lewin after 60 minutes. Then we were forced into changes –we lost Noni Madueke and Phil Foden through injuries, so it was a lot.
“Then we had a lot of new players and we changed a lot of new players, so for all that, I’m very grateful for the test and very happy with the performance.”
Tuchel also iterated that there is “high” competition for a place in England’s World Cup squad this summer as he refused to be drawn on who improved their prospects, but is pleased at how his team dealt with the challenge after Uruguay Head Coach, Marcelo Bielsa had warned that he treated the friendly as a serious match.
“They all did. I have to review it, but they all did.
“I liked how we played. We knew it was a difficult opponent. Bielsa told me months ago that he would arrive with his best team, take it very seriously, and maybe make no changes. We were very well aware of that.
“So, I think we did good. Everyone did good. We played as a team and brought the structure to life. I liked a lot of stuff today.”
Tuchel joked that White’s opener was “too good to be true,” after the defender gave away an injury-time penalty, which the German put down to just too much toughness and greed from a defensive position despite feeling that the penalty was harsh.
“And in the end, he’s maybe a bit too tough, too greedy in his defensive actions, but still, I don’t think it’s a penalty. It would have been nice to keep a clean sheet and take another win, but it won’t change my opinion on them.”
Leave a Reply