Thomas Tuchel laughs off ‘sing when we want’ chants as England reach World Cup
By Jonathan Veal, PA, Riga
Thomas Tuchel took the taunts from England fans on the chin as his side booked their place at next summer’s World Cup.
Harry Kane’s first-half double along with goals from Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze and a Maksims Tonisevs own goal earned a 5-0 victory over Latvia which guaranteed them a place at the tournament in North America.
But Tuchel was on the receiving end of light-hearted chants from England’s travelling fans who were responding to the German’s criticism of the atmosphere during Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales.
He was subject to taunts of “we sing when we want”, “are we loud enough for you?” and others while former England international Gary Neville was also on the receiving end following his recent comments about “middle-aged white men”.
Tuchel said: “I got a bit of stick today, in the first half, pretty much in every song.
“So fair enough. Well done. I take it and good humour, good sense of humour.
“They had a reason today from my last comments and I guess that’s fair enough. I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative.
“It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It’s British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done.
Tremendous support in Riga and back home tonight.
Thank you, #ThreeLions fans! ❤️🦁 pic.twitter.com/uwEYRDr6Nh— England (@England) October 14, 2025
“It’s so important. They are here and I said the support in Serbia was brilliant, and we are very sure the support in America will be absolutely brilliant.
“We need it. It makes such a difference if you go out as a player or as a coach and you see the fans behind the team and singing.
“We want to make them proud, we want to make them happy. They should be happy to watch us and they should be able to identify with how we play.
“We are on our way to build something and top performance from them.”
Tuchel has done the first part of his job in getting England to the tournament and if they continue the upward trajectory of their last three matches, they will be contenders to win it.
“We had in the group six matches. We won all six matches. We didn’t concede a goal,” said Tuchel.
“It’s a very special moment today. I think we stepped up in the last two camps and it was another team effort.”
Bayern Munich striker Kane led the way with two goals as he extended his red-hot start to the season to 21 goals in 13 games for club and country.
The two in Riga, which took his international tally to 76, helped make England the first European team to qualify.
“It’s a pleasure to have him. He’s in excellent shape, mentally, physically, in top form, top shape,” Tuchel said.
“Apart from scoring another two goals, look at the goal in the 85th minute from Ebs, we have a ball loss and Harry goes all the way back to his own half and puts his head down in another sprint defensively.
“As a captain, as the number nine. There’s no real need to do this. No one will ever blame him if he didn’t do it.
“But he does it, and that sets the standards. That is so brilliant to see, because he helps us win the ball and this in the end results in the goal from Ebs.
“Harry is ready to put in the intensity and the shift that is needed. “
