BUKAYO SAKA "LIKES' POST THOMAS TUCHEL A 'FRAUD' AFTER ENGLAND HAT-TRICK VS FRANCE

 

Bukayo Saka was at the heart of England’s 6-4 victory over France as he netted a hat-trick as Thomas Tuchel’s squad secured third place in the 2026 World Cup.

At half-time it appeared the Three Lions would waltz their way to the bronze medals as they were leading 4-0, thanks to goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa, and a brace from Saka.

While we had been treated to some entertaining action in this clash, at least from an England point of view, in the first half, it would truly kick into gear when France got on the scoresheet.

The French would make it 4-3 before the hydration break, with Bradley Barcola’s goal being sandwiched between a Kylian Mbappe brace; Saka completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Ousmane Dembele made it 5-4, and finally, in the 98th minute, Jude Bellingham would complete the scoring and earn the win for England.

It was a memorable performance for Saka in this clash; however, following the match, it appears his account liked a post saying Tuchel is ‘on fraud watch’, as the post praised the performance of three Arsenal players in the clash with France.

The post from albertsairpods said: “We really walked away with a Bukayo Saka World Cup hat-trick. Against France. You just escaped the nastiest public humiliation ritual. The cultural capital of six Arsenal G/A with zero injuries has decreased your punishment to a mere spanking. You’re still on fraud watch.”

However, it now appears that Saka’s account has now removed the like on this post that was critical of Tuchel, especially when there were questions around the future of the German as England manager after their World Cup semi-final defeat.

Thomas Tuchel’s future as England boss

The Champions League-winning manager faced serious questions after England’s defeat to Argentina due to his tactical decisions after the withdrawal of Anthony Gordon.

The Three Lions would suffer a 2-1 defeat with Marc Guehi being critical of Tuchel’s tactical approach, while several pundits were also outspoken about whether the German should remain in this managerial role.

Tuchel had been given a contract extension ahead of the World Cup, which would see him remain in charge until the completion of the 2028 European Championships.

Despite several loud calls for Tuchel to leave his managerial role with England, the FA appear to have given the German their full backing, believing he is the man to lead the team to silverware.

England’s performance in the third-place playoff with France will have only helped strengthen this belief as they secured the bronze medal in a thrilling 10-goal contest.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images

- Brendan McGilligan

'WHAT DO I KNOW?' - DONALD TRUMP JOINS CRITICISM OF THOMAS TUCHEL FOR PLAYING 'GOLF PARTNER' HARRY KANE IN 'DEFENSE' DURING WORLD CUP EXIT

 

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United States President Donald Trump has offered an unlikely critique of Thomas Tuchel's tactics following England's dramatic World Cup semi-final exit against Argentina. The American leader questioned the decision to drop captain Harry Kane into a deep defensive role after the Three Lions surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 in Atlanta.

Tuchel faces unlikely critic

Criticism of Tuchel's tactics following England's World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina has come from an unexpected source, with US President Trump questioning the manager's decisions. The Three Lions looked set to reach the final after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring, but Tuchel's switch to a back five - eventually finishing with six defenders - allowed Argentina to dominate the closing stages. Lionel Messi set up goals for Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, sealing a dramatic 2-1 win for the South Americans.

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Trump questions tactical mistake

Speaking alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino during an event at Trump Tower, Trump referenced his friendship with Kane from a past round of golf before questioning the manager's tactical adjustments.

Trump said: "You have a great player in England, who I played golf with. You know that, right? Harry, who's been fantastic. I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player.

"What do I know about soccer? They took the lead, and they took their best player and put him on defence. We have got to be a little offensive, right? But I'm not going to call it. What do I know about coaching? It was unusual, but Harry is a great guy, actually."

Manager rejects defensive claims

Tuchel shrugged off Trump's comments while defending his team's defensive structure and the captain's role on the pitch. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the third-place playoff against France, the England boss insisted: "Do you use Donald Trump as your witness for the case or...? I was just asking.

"In which situation did Harry play too deep? What do you mean? Like in the last 30 minutes? Well, we defended in a deep block. That's what you do if you defend in a block. We were not active enough, we could not escape the deep block, but if you defend in a deep block, everyone defends in a deep block. That is what team spirit, togetherness, and mentality is translated to in football terms.

"We defend as a 10 and as 11, and if we are pushed back to a deep block, Harry defends in a deep block. This is what he did for moments in the first half. The difference is that we pushed back and we stepped out and we found the triggers to come out of the deep block. But we do everything together as a team.

"The team spirit, the togetherness, the mentality that this team built in the last six and a half weeks is not to be questioned and it showed even in defending. We became too passive in the last 30 minutes. We could not get hold of the ball, we could not find duels anymore. This is the next step that we want to take and from there we go."

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FA backing remains firm

England must swiftly shift their focus to face a tough test against France in Saturday's World Cup third-place playoff match. Despite the wave of criticism following their semi-final collapse, ESPNreports that Tuchel's position remains perfectly secure, with the tactician retaining the full backing of the Football Association (FA) to lead the team through to Euro 2028.

- Adhe Makayasa

JOHN TERRY CLAIMS 11 ENGLAND PLAYERS ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR WORLD CUP

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John Terry has questioned ‘three or four’ of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup picks and claims 11 England players are not good enough to be in the squad.

The Three Lions face Costa Rica on Wednesday night in their final warm-up game before beginning their World Cup campaign next week against Croatia.

Tuchel’s 26-man squad has divided opinion and Chelsea legend Terry ‘disagrees’ with several of the players who were chosen to represent England out in the United States.

Terry believes Manchester United duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw should both have been picked and says Tuchel was ‘wrong’ to omit Chelsea star Cole Palmer.

Assessing England’s squad more generally, Terry believes Tuchel is reliant on ’14 or 15 starters’ and has questioned whether the ‘rest of the squad’ can contribute to a World Cup win.

‘First of all, I really like him [England boss Thomas Tuchel],’ Terry said on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

‘Obviously, seeing his work around Chelsea, when he was there, he brought success for us in the Champions League as well.

And what I like about him, he’s not afraid to make these big decisions, and I think we’ve seen that in his squad.

‘Now, that’s something I disagree with actually, in terms of the players that he’s not picked for this World Cup.

‘Harry Maguire being one, the first one. For me, he’s a better player than Dan Burn and now if the other two get injured, whether that’s John Stones coming in, I’d much rather Harry Maguire there and be the one coming in.

‘I think he always poses a big threat from set plays as well late on, and I know Dan Burn poses that threat as well, when he can play at left-back being a left sider.

‘But I would have Harry Maguire there every day of the week. Luke Shaw is another one at left back. We’re looking at Nico O’Reilly playing there.

‘I think someone like him needs someone like Luke Shaw around the place to help him, settle him, give him a little bit of advice because he is the future of us in our next World Cups coming up.

‘Cole Palmer is the next big decision as well. So I think he’s got it wrong in three or four big decisions on the pitch, actually. I think you need your best players, the further you get in these World Cups.

‘I don’t think Djed Spence is the future for England, for me. I think he’s had a poor season, Spurs have been really poor as well, so you can definitely argue that one.

‘But for me, I just think you need to have your best players there. When I look at it, I’m looking at the team now, there’s probably 14, 15 starters… there’s only 13, 14 or 15 players that can play if we’re going to win this World Cup.

‘When I look at the rest of the squad around me, I’m not sure they’re going to push the players who are going to be playing.’

England turn their attentions to Ghana and Panama after facing Croatia in their World Cup opener as they look to get out of Group L.

The Three Lions are bidding to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966, having came agonisingly close to winning a major trophy under former boss Sir Gareth Southgate.

England reached back-to-back European Championship finals under Southgate and went deep in two World Cups, reaching the semi-finals in 2018 and the quarters four years ago.

- Louis Sealey

FUMING THOMAS TUCHEL ROUNDS ON 'FROZEN' ENGLAND STARS AS HARRY KANE POINTS FINGER OF BLAME

England crashed to a humiliating defeat to Senegal on Tuesday night, with Thomas Tuchel's reign threatening to unravel just four games in as his side were booed off

Thomas Tuchel has been left furious with his England players(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Thomas Tuchel said his players were ‘frozen’ as his England team were humiliated by Senegal in Nottingham. England were booed off by supporters inside the City Ground after Tuchel suffered his first defeat as Three Lions boss.

“Felt a bit frozen, not active enough for a long time over the match,” declared Tuchel. “We go into a long break with a bad feeling. It's a disappointing result. I’m not sure if we did not deserve a little bit more result-wise.”

Harry Kane had pounced for his 73rd international goal to give England an early lead but Ismaila Sarr equalised just before half-time. Habib Diarra fired Senegal ahead just after the hour mark.

And home misery was complete when substitute Cheikh Sabaly added a third in added time. Tuchel added: “We conceded two very cheap goals and then had big chances to equalise.

"We didn’t … so the result is the result. It is tough learning at the moment because we hate to lose.”

Harry Kane said there were “no excuses” for the defeat - England’s first-ever at the hands of an African nation - but proceeded to blast Stephanie Frappart’s decision to rule out a Jude Bellingham strike that would have made it 2-2 late in the game.

Frappart was sent to the screen by VAR and gave handball against Levi Colwill in the build-up to Bellingham’s hit. Kane declared: “If you know the rules it's not handball. That gets us back in the game and maybe we can go on and win the game, so it's a big moment.”

The England skipper did, though, suggest his side had not shown enough fight, saying: “We had moments but, with and without the ball, things aren't clicking, we're not finding the right tempo. We've lost that aggressive nature that we had. Not good enough.

The Three Lions crashed to a humiliating defeat to Senegal on Tuesday night(Image: The FA via Getty Images)

“It's a mixture of things but no excuses. We need to find it quick, the World Cup is going to come around really fast so every camp is really important right now. We're not going to panic but we know we need to be better.”

And Tuchel, who defended his decision to only bring on Ivan Toney three minutes from the end of normal time, also said he would be staying calm, adding: “We lost a test (friendly) match so there is no need to panic.

“We have three qualification games, we have nine points, and have not conceded. We will be competitive in September. We will go for two more victories, 100 per cent we will.

“We know more now, we are smarter. It’s tough at the moment. I am the first one to dislike and hate losses like nothing else. But we don’t go next week to the World Cup, we go in one year.”

- Andy Dunn

THREE LIONS MEME | ENGLAND V SWITZERLAND | EURO 2024