England: Thomas Tuchel still stinging from World Cup criticism despite Nations League positives

The Wembley crowd was in party mood and the fans sang Thomas Tuchel's name. Three straight wins without conceding, Harry Kane feted as England's greatest ever servant, a Nations League quarter-final all-but guaranteed.

Some 83 days after England succumbed to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, we'd moved on.

And then Tuchel showed that he hasn't, and revealed his underlying bitterness and hurt.

The England boss is clearly still smarting from the vociferous criticism that came at him from all angles following the World Cup exit. And now, when all had been forgotten, if not forgiven, it was Tuchel who brought the subject back up.

He'd made it very clear at the start of this extended international break that he wanted to look forward rather than back. We know that he'd had clear-the-air talks with the England players who had lingering anger at his public criticism of them and their sub-standard 'DNA', but Tuchel stressed it is now all about the bright new future, with an assault on the Nations League trophy and, ultimately, the Euros in two years' time.

But, feeling re-emboldened after a very positive autumn for his England team, he bit back at those pesky journalists who'd dared to question whether he got the tactics wrong when 1-0 up and close to reaching a first World Cup final in 60 years.

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Asked whether he'd seen an improvement in mood, confidence and momentum since the end of the World Cup, he replied: "Yeah, I do. It's necessary to move on and I can only repeat: we didn't go out in the group stage. It often feels like that. But we didn't."

A follow-up question asked him whether he felt the scrutiny and assessment of England's World Cup exit had been too harsh, and Tuchel's response was pointed and said with a scornful tone and a stern expression.

"In between, it felt a little bit like it, yeah. (Why?) Why? Were you in the press conference before the France game? (Me? No, I wasn't there.) Yeah. You would have known why."

The tense exchange came after a three-week camp where sources had told Sky Sports News just how positive the mood had been, and how optimistic the players and staff are about what lies ahead. Tuchel and the squad were as one again, the "Brotherhood" Tuchel craved, back together again.

And yet the image that Tuchel portrayed to the outside world, whenever the cameras were on him at training or in the regular news conferences that came with four games in 11 days, was one of a brooding malaise.

I'm told the England boss became aware of his less-than-positive demeanour and made a conscious effort to change for the latter stages of the camp, and in fact the Tuchel on the touchline at Wembley on Tuesday night was back to his animated, tactile, positive self.

Until the post-match news conference. Where it looked the opposite. And it was very surprising that the England boss decided to take that tack.

Satisfaction and clarity from latest camp

That media moment aside, Tuchel can look back on this extended international break with a lot of satisfaction. He engineered by far the best performance and result of his tenure with the 7-0 obliteration of Croatia on Saturday, and he has what he would call "proof of concept", in the sense that England showed an energy, a ravenousness for the ball, and a relentless attacking intent which the England boss has been calling for from the moment he took over.

Even the defeat to Spain in the opening game came with a great deal of positives, with England matching their opponents in many areas, and they were perhaps a slipped penalty kick away from victory over the world champions.

Most impressive was England's front four, who Bukayo Saka told me is the best in the world when they are on song. Kane told us there is a new freedom and fluidity in the way they play together which brings out the best of all of them, and makes it much more challenging for opposing defences. When he drops deep, others (often Jude Bellingham) run beyond him to fill the void; when Bellingham goes wide to exploit space, Anthony Gordon or Saka will drift inside. Tuchel's assistant, Anthony Barry, described it by saying they'd let Bellingham "out of a cage" and that they were reaping the rewards.

A number of new players put their hands up to be England regulars too. Alex Scott was name-checked by Barry as someone who is already considered part of the inner sanctum, and Lewis Hall showed that he is probably first choice left-back now, after some hugely impressive performances throughout. Trent Alexander-Arnold, too, reminded everyone of his world class ball skills - whether he did enough to impress Tuchel for a regular return to the England fold remains to be seen, when all of the other injured right backs are available again.

It felt like there is more clarity too on some of those players on the England fringes, and who missed this camp. Cole Palmer was given some Tuchel tough love, when the German coach said he'd missed too many opportunities to be in camp. Phil Foden wasn't mentioned at all, after he'd been overlooked in the original squad selection. Harry Maguire likewise, after voicing his frustration at being left out of the World Cup squad.

You also get the feeling that, in the debate around who will ultimately replace Kane as England's No 9, Bellingham is looking more and more likely. It was noticeable that the Real Madrid master often filled in there in this camp, rather than Tuchel turning to Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the bench.

Tuchel now has a month-and-a-half to reflect. He can be very pleased with the direction of travel. But the next stern test is as tough as it gets: Spain away, in November.

(c) Sky Sports 2026: England: Thomas Tuchel still stinging from World Cup criticism despite Nations League positives