Keane labels England star ‘fuming’ at Tuchel for tiny role in embarrassing Senegal defeat
Roy Keane has tipped an England player to be “fuming” at manager Thomas Tuchel for the role he gave him in the Three Lions’ 3-1 loss to Senegal on Tuesday.
The last couple of games under Tuchel have not inspired confidence. England scraped to a 1-0 victory over Andorra on Saturday before they were embarrassingly beaten by Senegal.
The African nation went behind on seven minutes, but equalised in the first half, before taking the lead in the second, and finished England off with a stoppage time goal, to confirm the 3-1 scoreline – the Three Lions’ first defeat to an African side.
In trouble in the second half, Tuchel made six changes, but one of them – Ivan Toney – was introduced in the 88th minute, when the game was essentially gone.
Keane feels the striker – who bagged 30 goals in his first Al-Ahli season – will not be happy.
“The other subs had a bit of an impact, better than the other day [against Andorra], so that’s a bit of a plus,” Keane said.
“But if you’re Toney and you’re getting three, four, five minutes, do you know what, you’d be fuming.”
Ian Wright added he was “very surprised” not to see Toney until as late as he came on.
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Keane, meanwhile, also feels there is cause for concern for Tuchel after the damaging defeat.
“The signs aren’t great. The rhythm wasn’t there. Dream start, go 1-0 up, made good changes. [But it] won’t be a good summer break for the manager and I think he’ll be concerned,” he said.
“I think there’s something amiss. They don’t look like a happy group. Are they really all in it together? Is there a spirit amongst the group? I’m not sure.
“They are all waiting for something to happen. These are quality players. They just seem to be lost. The players are having a chat like they’re in Starbucks: do your job!”
England next play international football in September, in World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and then Serbia. They are currently well placed to qualify, but the level of performance in the last game will certainly be a concern.
READ MORE: England player ratings in awful Senegal defeat: Bright Eze, busy Henderson, poor Walker
