England’s Thomas Tuchel holds talks with Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said he had discussions with Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford after criticising their minimal impact on the wings against Albania.

Both Foden and Rashford were taken off by the German in the second half in 2-0 win against Albania on Friday at the Wembley Stadium. While Foden hasn’t been at his best for Manchester City this season, Rashford’s work ethics were questioned by Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim before he was transferred to Aston Villa.

“I’ve spoken to both of them, also in front of the group. They know that I appreciate the effort, I think especially off the ball,” Tuchel told reporters.

“We can see in the numbers and when we watch the match again how much effort they put into defending high and to the counter-press. Also in their sprinting numbers, Marcus had a lot of runs when we had the ball where we did not see him or use him.

“Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum, at the moment, that he can have. But both of them are very positive, have every right to be positive and know exactly what we want from them. Ideally we try to bring them in more one-on-one situations.”

Tuchel hinted that some fresh players would take the field against Latvia on Monday.

“It’s only the second day after the match. It’s still a day where we have to be cautious,” he said.

“It could also make sense to put some fresh players who really deserve to play … Maybe it will be a mix between the both.”

Tuchel said Gibbs-White handled the disappointment of initially missing out on the squad very well and that the 25-year-old was really happy when he was finally added to the squad. 

“It’s very likely that he will be in the squad. Morgan is an amazing character, I have to say. I’m happy that he’s with us. He deserves a lot of praise,” Tuchel said.

“It’s also how we expect it to be because it should be an honour and it should be a privilege to play for England. The egos have to be put aside. That’s what everyone’s doing and Morgan does it in an impressive way.”