Was Tuchel right to criticise England fans?

Thomas Tuchel has only been England boss for 10 months - but he has again made headlines and ruffled feathers with his answers in an interview.

After Thursday's 3-0 friendly win over Wales, watched by 78,126 fans at Wembley, Tuchel said: "I love English football and I love English football fans and the support they give, but I think the atmosphere did not match the performance on the field.

"We had excellent support in Serbia, but [here] we were 3-0 up after 20 minutes, we had ball win after ball win after ball win and I felt like why is the roof still on the stadium? That's just it, it's nothing big.

"We will do everything again to be infectious, there's no problem. I'm sure we will get everyone going - it is on us. But tonight I was a little underwhelmed."

He told ITV that "it's a big sad" because for half an hour it was "just Wales fans" being heard.

Some fans threw paper aeroplanes on the pitch, an occurrence that has happened in recent years when England fans have been bored.

BBC Sport looks at why Tuchel said this, whether he had a point and what previous managers have said.

This is far from the first time an England manager has talked about an underwhelming Wembley atmosphere.

In fact every permanent England boss since 2008 (who has managed more than one game) has - although only one was anywhere near as vocal as Tuchel

Italian Fabio Capello said in 2008: "I prefer playing away from home. When we play at Wembley, sometimes the first mistake the crowd whistle.

"I think, at this moment, the players play better away from home. They play with more confidence."

Roy Hodgson was asked about low attendances in 2014 after 40,181 watched a game with Norway.

"We'll find it hard to bring attendances back because the opponents we're playing won't excite the public," he said.

And Gareth Southagte was asked about paper planes after a friendly against Brazil in March 2024.

"I saw a couple of those after about 10 minutes," he said. "We've had that throughout. I don't think it always reflects the game. People can do as they please with their paper planes.

"Watching the game back, for 75 minutes or so, the national anthem was being sung. People in the stadium recognised we had young players coming on to the pitch."

Tuchel is well known for being direct and sometimes confrontational in his quotes.

In August he apologised for describing midfielder Jude Bellingham's on-field behaviour as "repulsive", saying he used the word "unintentionally".

Tuchel has made friends and enemies at many of the previous clubs he has managed: Mainz, Borussia Dortmund, Paris St-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Is this a cultural thing - and Germans are more direct than English fans are used to - or just a Tuchel thing?

German journalist Constantin Eckner believes it is the latter.

"That has nothing to do with Tuchel being German," he said.

"That's just how Tuchel thinks and acts. He is very direct, blatantly honest and can be annoyed by certain things.

"He rarely holds back, and is in a sense the new Jose Mourinho, who similarly speaks his mind during press conferences and post-game interviews."

Eckner says some of this comes from Tuchel being used to club football. This is his first international job, starting it at the beginning of 2025.

"It certainly is a deviation from the way Gareth Southgate behaved during his tenure," the journalist said.

"Also, I think Tuchel is not yet used to home crowds being that reserved, which can happen at international games.

"During his time as a club manager, the home fans were usually buzzing. Even Mainz had a great home game atmosphere."

After the quotes on Bellingham which were heavily critised, Tuchel said: "I thought I had a little more credit with you guys [media] that I do all this in my second language."

But this instance is not a case of using the wrong word.

Eckner said: "In a way, people have to live with Tuchel being this direct. His command of the English language is very good."

Tuchel's comments about a "silent" Wembley have already sparked a debate about how the atmosphere for England matches at the national stadium can be improved.

Inside Wembley on Thursday, it struck me once again how when the second half began thousands of seats remained empty and it wasn't until some time after the break they were filled.

England matches at Wembley can often be so quiet and the paper-plane throwing there that irked Southgate throughout his time in charge is still very much a thing.

Wembley for England is a changing crowd every time they play. The 'Club Wembley' contingent enjoying hospitality packages don't help in that regard and it's never a good look when many of their seats behind the tunnel and the dugout are still vacant well into the second half.

The England Supporters Travel Club have long tried to improve the atmosphere at home matches and only last month asked members for suggestions about "improving the visual and vocal atmosphere".

As Tuchel acknowledged it's not an issue for away matches, and praised the support in Belgrade last month. It's to do specifically with the national stadium.

Which is not to say that Wembley is never vibrant for England - think back to the Euros in 2021, and what it sounded like when Germany were beaten, or the explosion of noise when Luke Shaw opened the scoring in the final. It was as loud as anything I've heard there.

But Tuchel is not the first England manager to question it and will probably not be the last.

The introduction of the Nations League has meant fewer friendlies that have absolutely nothing riding on them.

England have played about two friendlies a year since 2020, including against Senegal and Wales this year.

But while most of their games are competitive, most still seem to lack the feeling of jeopardy.

Since failing to qualify for Euro 2008 under McClaren, England have lost only two of their 79 World Cup or Euros qualifiers - usually qualifying with games to spare.

And while England have reached the Nations League finals, been relegated and been promoted, the tournament has yet to really capture the imagination in the country.

Wembley crowds have only seen England lose one competitive match since 2018, a 2-1 loss to Greece in the Nations League last year under Lee Carsley.

In this year's World Cup qualifiers, England have won five out of five and already sit seven points above second-placed Albania.

Former England captain Wayne Rooney recently said on his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, that most of these games are "nonsense".

"Watching England now and some of the games, you know they're going to win, it can be a bit boring," he said.

That is in contrast to some of the jubilant scenes elsewhere, such as Scotland fans after their 3-1 World Cup qualifier win over Greece.

England play most of their home games at Wembley, only playing games elsewhere for logistical reasons or sometimes in the build-up to a major tournament.

Since 2018, they have also played home matches at Old Trafford, Molineux, the Riverside Stadium, St Mary's, the King Power Stadium, Elland Road, St James' Park and the City Ground.

There is a mix of strategy among other leading European football nations.

France and Portugal have fixed home grounds, but others like Spain and the Netherlands move around.

Criticism of fans is not unique to England either. And instances elsewhere show that playing in certain cities can affect how fans react to some players.

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente said he "felt ashamed" when Bernabeu fans booed captain Alvaro Morata, who played for Atletico and Real Madrid, against Brazil last year.

"It pains me to the core that in my country they boo the captain of the national team," he added.

Recently France boss Didier Deschamps called it "unacceptable" that Stade de France fans booed Adrien Rabiot, who had left local club PSG for rivals Marseille the previous summer.

The other question is whether Tuchel's quotes should be perceived negatively or not.

Former England defender Stephen Warnock was at the game against Wales as a summariser for BBC Radio 5 Live.

"The performance warranted a good response from the fans. It's disappointing he's felt that," said Warnock.

"Is this a negative? It depends on how you interpret it as a fan, whether you take it the wrong way or whether you think you can back the team more.

"Maybe there needs to be more done behind the scenes to be able to create pockets of fan groups together where you can actually start the atmosphere going and get the songs going.

"But if it was me and I was sitting in the stands and that comment was made, I'd be thinking about what more I could do to help the team. Fans do help you and they do give you that energy."