Thomas Tuchel urged to 'be careful' with England selections as World Cup qualifying resumes

England prepare for two World Cup qualifiers over the next few days, and the spotlight is shining a bit brighter after a pair of underwhelming performances earlier this year.

The Three Lions lost their most recent match, a friendly against Senegal on June 10, and that followed a lacklustre 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Andorra three days earlier.

In the aftermath of those matches, manager Thomas Tuchel, who took over the England job at the beginning of the year, put himself under more scrutiny when he called star midfielder Jude Bellingham's on-field demeanour "repulsive" in the Senegal loss.

Tuchel later retracted the remark, but the German remains under the microscope ahead of crucial qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia on Sept. 6 and 9, respectively. 

• Read next | Three lessons from three weeks of the Premier League - what we've learned from opening stages of the season

Didi Hamann, the retired Germany international who played at Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester CIty, believes Tuchel needs to "be careful" in approaching the upcoming matches.

With Bellingham out due to injury, Tuchel has brought 35-year-old Jordan Henderson back into the Three Lions squad, which has led to criticism from some observers.

“It's all gone a bit pessimistic around Thomas Tuchel and England," Hamann told CoinPoker. "He made a comment about Jude Bellingham last time that he's now backtracked on, saying he didn't really mean it. I think he has to be careful. 

“Jordan Henderson has been put in the squad and I think he's got to be careful not to lose trust with the fans, because sometimes you can bring one or two players back, but I don't think many people understood what he tried to do or achieve with it. 

“I think that's one thing where he has to be careful, but it's a long way. Everything has to click next June. Obviously you have to qualify, I'm sure they will qualify. But I think what you want to do is build a bit of momentum.

“When he came, people weren't sure about a German for England, but then they said he's a fantastic coach. They gave him a chance. And the performances so far have been average, to say the least, probably average at best. So yeah, I think they've got to pick up soon.”

How to watch the Premier League in Canada

Soccer fans in Canada can watch every Premier League match during the 2025-26 season on DAZN.

With Fubo Sports on DAZN, Canadians can catch Premier League action as well as Serie A. Additionally, DAZN is the home of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Bundesliga and more.

For pricing information and to sign up to watch, click here.