England head coach Thomas Tuchel branded a player “unprofessional” after calling him up to the Three Lions squad for the first time.
Tuchel, 52, is not one to mess about and is quick to call out his players if he is unhappy with their performances on the pitch or their behaviour off it.
The German became England’s head coach back in October 2024 before beginning work on January 1 2025.
The former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich head coach penned an 18-month contract with the FA with one simple objective: to win the 2026 World Cup.
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In his four games in charge, Tuchel has guided the Three Lions to three wins and a defeat, which came during a friendly against Senegal in Nottingham back in June.
And before the March international break, in which England defeated Albania and Latvia, Tuchel called one player up to the Three Lions squad for the first time, only to call him “unprofessional” during text exchange.
Tuchel named Newcastle United defender Dan Burn in his squad for the March fixtures and called him to tell him the good news.
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When asked about how he was informed of his call-up during a press conference at the time, Burn explained: “The manager FaceTimed us on Tuesday and said that they were debating calling us (me) up, and would let us know on Thursday.
“Then it got to six o’clock Thursday night, (I had) not heard anything, so I said to my wife, ‘nothing’s going to happen’.
“I got a text saying ‘Are you still awake’ at 10. I was like ‘Yes’, straight away.
“First of all, he said I was very unprofessional for not being in bed at 10 o’clock, so I apologised for that.”
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Of course, Tuchel likely made the 'unprofessional' claim in jest.
Since the admission, Tuchel has handed the Magpies defender two caps – against Albania and Latvia – as well as calling him up for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, and Djed Spence make up the defenders in the squad.
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Despite being named in the England squad for the fixtures, it remains to be seen whether the 33-year-old will make the cut for next summer's World Cup, by which time he'll be 34.
Nonetheless, Burn is backing himself to make Tuchel’s squad and admitted that playing in a World Cup was “every kid’s dream” when speaking to England Football in March.
“I’d never played any international football, and I did think it had passed us by at 32,” Burn said.
“But when the new manager came in, it was that feeling of 'you never know'."
Topics: Thomas Tuchel, England, Newcastle United, Football
Luke Davies