Thomas Tuchel’s name was booed by England fans before kick-off in Miami, a sharp wake-up call for the manager whose reputation has been shredded since Wednesday’s semi-final defeat to Argentina. The stadium announcer read out the players’ names to cheers, but the mood turned when it came to Tuchel — loud and clear, according to the Mirror. Tuchel had earlier given a terse answer when asked whether he wanted to stay on, insisting the mood was not “split”, but the fans have made up their minds.
Within three minutes, however, England had a dream start. Declan Rice intercepted a pass from Doue on the halfway line, drove to the edge of the penalty area and rifled a strike into the bottom right corner. The Independent described it as a “lovely strike” and a “dream start”. Rice’s goal came after Tuchel made seven changes to the starting XI, resting captain Harry Kane despite his golden boot ambitions, and giving runouts to Dean Henderson, Jarell Quansah, Eberechi Eze and Marcus Rashford.
“Thomas Tuchel booed before kick-off as Declan Rice scores stunner to give England early lead over France.”
England are trying to pick themselves up after a 2-1 loss to Argentina on Wednesday, a defeat that blew their chance of reaching a first World Cup final in 60 years. The aftermath has also seen Argentina’s rugby players join the mockery, wearing a kit paying homage to Diego Maradona’s 1986 “Hand of God” team for their Nations Championship clash with England, according to the Daily Mail.
France, too, are looking to end on a high under the retiring Didier Deschamps, with Kylian Mbappe determined to win the golden boot in a battle with Lionel Messi. The match is a third-place play-off, a game neither team wanted but where a win would give England their best ever World Cup finish on foreign soil. If the scores are level after 90 minutes, the match goes to extra-time and then penalties, as per the Sun.
Tuchel’s toughest task now may be winning back the fans and the players. For now, a bronze medal and a Rice stunner have at least silenced the boos — for a moment.