Speaking on Sportpesa’s Shaun Bartlett World Cup Special, Bartlett pointed to the club career timeline as reason for patience.
“Tuchel, he’s only been there two years. I think there’s a Euro coming up in two years’ time. If they can possibly go all the way and see if they can win that in preparation for the next World Cup, that’s also progress. They’ve definitely improved under him.”
He added that the decision ultimately rests with the football association. “It just depends on what the federation will be looking for. I think he should continue till at least the next World Cup, giving a bit of time, you know, with the players more comfortable.”
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Bartlett did flag some friction within the camp as a concern going forward. “We saw a couple of off the field incidents where the coach and the players said two different things. Those type of things, I think everybody needs to be on the same page and understand each other, and as far as the game plan is concerned, just carry it out.”
He also pointed to the age of England’s squad as reason for optimism regardless of who is in charge.
“If you look at their squad, the golden generation of players, they probably had the best opportunity now as far as getting to that final and possibly win it.”
“There’s quite a few young players in that squad, you know, Jude is only about 24, 25. So I think the players will get a lot of experience from this particular World Cup, and hopefully won’t repeat the same mistakes.”
Photo: REUTERS/Paul Childs
