Thomas Tuchel slammed England’s attitude and accused them of a lack of “seriousness” during Saturday’s lacklustre 1-0 win against minnows Andorra.
Tuchel’s side were booed at the final whistle in Barcelona after Harry Kane’s 50th minute tap-in saved England from a humiliating draw with a team ranked 173rd in the world.
Although England have won all three of their World Cup qualifiers since Tuchel took charge, they have struggled to fulfil the German’s desire for a more attacking style of play.
Their laboured efforts against Andorra infuriated Tuchel, who saw alarming signs that his players threw in the towel in the closing stages.
“I didn’t like the way we ended the game,” he said.
“I liked the attitude of how we started the game, the first 25 minutes, but I didn’t like the last 25 minutes, the last half an hour.
“I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier.
“We played with fire and I didn’t like the attitude in the end. I didn’t like the body language and I think it was not what the occasion needed.”
England sit top of Group K as they progress towards next year’s World Cup, yet they will need to improve significantly to make an impact in the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Tuchel was relieved to secure the victory after Andorra pushed for a late leveller, but he conceded his team had played with a lack of energy.
“In the end we played with fire, honestly. I felt it almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger,” he said.
“I didn’t feel a team that is aware it’s only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier because we were not happy with ourselves.
“I’m not blaming them. I even feel like they felt ‘OK, we’re not happy and this is stuck today, it will not happen today’.
“Step by step the energy dropped. We needed exactly the opposite but we couldn’t deliver and so we got away with a win.”
