Thomas Tuchel’s name was met with a chorus of boos inside the Hard Rock Stadium before England’s World Cup third-place play-off against France. The jeers came from a crowd expected to include a strong contingent of Paris Saint-Germain fans – the German coach’s former employers – as well as disgruntled England supporters still bitter about Wednesday’s semi-final defeat to Argentina.
The uncomfortable welcome for England’s manager was the latest flashpoint in a tournament that has reignited a long-running debate about the value of the bronze-medal match. Alan Shearer, the former England captain, has branded the fixture “absolute nonsense” and “meaningless”, insisting it should be scrapped altogether.
“Thomas Tuchel booed by fans before England's third-place play-off; Alan Shearer calls match 'absolute nonsense'.”
“It’s absolute nonsense,” Shearer said ahead of tonight’s game. “The third-place play-off is meaningless and should be scrapped.” The former striker’s criticism echoes a sentiment he has aired for years about a match first introduced in 1934.
England’s presence in the play-off comes after a painful semi-final loss to Argentina, while France missed out on the final following a defeat to Germany. The match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami offers little more than the chance to claim bronze, a prospect Shearer believes is hardly worth the effort.
Tuchel, appointed England manager earlier this year, has faced scrutiny throughout the tournament, and the booing at the stadium underscored the uneasy relationship between fans and the German-born coach. Many England supporters remain frustrated by the nature of the semi-final defeat, while PSG fans in attendance have not forgotten his turbulent spell in charge of the French club.
With kick-off imminent, the atmosphere inside the stadium crackled with tension. The players, however, will have to block out the noise and focus on a match that many – including one of England’s greatest ever players – think should not exist at all.