Ex-England boss Capello hits out at Tuchel after his ‘bad choice’ creates ‘problem’ amid ‘fear’ claim

Former England boss Fabio Capello has hit out at Thomas Tuchel and picked out the two weak areas in his Three Lions squad.

Tuchel was under huge scrutiny even before his first game as England‘s head coach on Friday evening as some press unnecessarily tried to drag him into political debates.

Ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss Tuchel penned an 18-month contract to replace Gareth Southgate and the serial winner is only focused on football ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Tuchel has got off to a strong start as The Three Lions beat Albania 2-0 in their first World Cup qualifier via goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane.

England have their second World Cup qualifier on Monday evening against Latvia and ahead of this match, Capello has criticised Tuchel for deciding to work from home as “you have to live in England”.

“You have to go and check the players every game,” Capello told The Daily Mail.

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“Not on TV. Live. On TV, you can see one part of the pitch. But when you go to the match, you can see every moment.

“The ball is one part, but tactics, positions, everything. You have to see that. I went every Saturday, every Sunday. I saw a lot, a lot, a lot of the games.

“You have to live in England, absolutely. You have to live the culture, everything. I went to the office, to Wembley, every day, with Franco Baldini. Only the day after the games, Monday, did I stay at home.”

He added: “The manager decides during the game the substitutions. Sometimes good ideas, sometimes bad ideas. Bad choices. This is a problem.”

Capello has also ‘exposed two areas where England cannot produce world-class players’ and gave the main reason behind their failure in recent finals against Italy and Spain.

“I saw the final against Italy (in 2021) and the final against Spain (in 2024) and always the same – they play with fear. No confidence, no bravery. Like a monkey on the back. Too many years without a trophy,” Capello explained.

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“I remember the game against Italy. After 20 minutes, when they were winning 1-0, they started to waste time. Not running to take the free-kick, really, really slow with throw-ins, long balls from the ‘keeper. It was the same against Spain. They did not play like they did in the games before. It’s fear, fear, fear.”

He continued: “Get the monkey off the back! When they play, normally they can beat everyone. But when they arrive closer to the final, the monkey becomes the biggest.

“Southgate’s team had a really good spirit. This is important to find. Find the team spirit and find the players at the top of their game. Because you have no time at training.

“It’s a very different job. They have good players, but I think it is possible to improve. Jude Bellingham is a really important player. He makes the difference.

“But one really important part you have to improve is the defenders. I don’t know if England can find someone young. I saw a lot of players but at centre-back, they have not a lot of English players. And the ‘keeper is a normal ‘keeper.”