Ex-England defender's 'issue' with Thomas Tuchel revealed as German is told he made 'huge mistake' & public Jude Bellingham spat is 'risky gamble' he might not win

WHAT HAPPENED?

Former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel officially took charge of the Three Lions on January 1, having spent several months watching on from afar after seeing his appointment as successor to Gareth Southgate confirmed.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Tuchel arrived vowing to deliver free-flowing football, but England stumbled through their opening four games under a new coaching team. They have picked up three wins and as many clean sheets, but none of those successes were convincing - against supposedly inferior opposition - and a 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal was suffered last time out.

WHAT MILLS SAID

Quizzed on whether England need to stick with Tuchel’s grand plan or consider an immediate change - with the 2026 World Cup still a year away - former Three Lions defender Mills, speaking in association with William Hill Vegas, told GOAL: "I think they have to keep faith, simple as that.

"I think he was the best manager out there available at the time. Where I have an issue - when he first took over, he didn’t take over straight away. He missed out on four or five games where he could have gone in and had an influence. He could have got to know the players. I think that was a huge mistake by Thomas Tuchal and also the FA, for allowing that to happen. Not sure that would happen in too many other jobs. He could have stepped in.

"Then when he came in he said ‘I’m going to play attractive, sexy football, be on the front foot’. Not seen that yet, in any way shape or form. If he had come in and just said ‘I’m here to win, couldn’t care less how we win, I’m here to win the World Cup’. Then you look at results and he’s winning, apart from the last game that was a friendly. You go ‘ok, judge him on that’.

"He said he wants to play attractive, attacking football so it’s another stick to beat him with. That was probably a mistake, to say that. He gave Gareth Southgate a bit of stick about what he did. It probably makes everyone realise that being England manager isn’t as easy as people think. Gareth Southgate got an awful lot of stick."

DID YOU KNOW?

Mills added on Tuchel’s public condemnation of Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham, with the German claiming that his mother finds some of the midfielder’s on-field behaviour "repulsive": "We’ve seen Thomas Tuchel come out and publicly criticise Jude Bellingham. Don’t think Gareth Southgate came out and criticised any single player. He did the opposite and kept the group together, kept everything in house.

"Although it might work for Thomas Tuchel, I think it’s a big gamble to maybe alienate players of that calibre, that have a voice. Only time will tell, but I think it’s a risky gamble."

Getty/GOAL

WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

England will not be in action again until playing host to Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on September 6. Tuchel will hope that the next international break, when players are feeling fitter and fresher, allows him to implement the brand of football that he has been promising.