'The squad's wrong!' - Ex-England star tears into 'arrogant' Thomas Tuchel after 'concerning' World Cup display vs DR Congo

Butt launched a strong criticism of Tuchel following England's 2-1 lacklustre victory over DR Congo, raising concerns about both the manager's tactical approach and squad selection. Speaking exclusively to Paddy Power, the former England midfielder argued that Tuchel has overlooked key creative players and assembled an unbalanced 26-man squad. Butt believes those decisions could become a major issue if England struggle in the latter stages of the World Cup.

Butt said Tuchel's determination to stick to his own methods is both a strength and a potential weakness. While acknowledging that winning would silence criticism, he questioned the manager's refusal to consider outside opinions.

"He does what he wants in the sense that he doesn't care about the media, the fans. He's just stubborn in his own way," Butt explained. "If they win it like this no one's going to care. He’d be knighted, he’d be a god. However, it's just a bit concerning.

"But he just seems like the kind of manager who's stubborn, arrogant in a way that he's just doing what he wants to do. It is a good thing as well, it's not a bad thing as a manager. He’s got a plan and is sticking to it, and he doesn't care what the noise is around him."

He also criticised England's squad selection, insisting Tuchel omitted players capable of changing tight matches.

"I don't care what anyone says, the squad's wrong," he added. "Deep down he'll never admit it but he'll know that he should have taken Trent Alexander-Arnold, 100%. He'll know with 15 minutes left at 0-0, he'll have looked at the bench and wish he would have had a Phil Foden or a Cole Palmer on the bench. If he doesn't win it he's going to get severely criticised, severely. I just don't understand a lot of his decisions. It's a bit of a mess."

Butt was equally puzzled by Tuchel's handling of Kobbie Mainoo, questioning why the United youngster has barely featured. He argued that introducing Jordan Henderson ahead of Mainoo reflected a lack of trust in England's defence and limited the team's attacking ambition.

"The big one I don't understand is why he isn’t getting Kobbie Mainoo to come on in any way," Butt said. "I just don't get it. He’s not even giving him three minutes. He put Jordan Henderson on before him - there's something fundamentally wrong there.

"It’s glaring that Tuchel doesn’t trust his back four, that’s why he’s playing with two sitting players like that. It’s crazy against a team like Congo. I think that's where Kobbie Mainoo should come in and play. Against some of these teams - Ghana, Panama, Congo - he should’ve come in."

Butt also questioned the midfield partnership of Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, suggesting it lacks creativity. He claimed Rice was not fully fit and criticised Anderson for playing too safely and failing to progress the ball effectively.

He added: "Thomas Tuchel put our best midfielder, probably one of the best in Europe last season, to be right back because it’s such a glaring problem. Regardless of that, Declan Rice has definitely got an injury. There's no way he's fully fit so I don’t get why he just didn't take him off, rested him - he's got bigger games coming up.

"Elliot Anderson has not been that good and he wasn’t good against DR Congo. He's stuttered a bit, he's going too deep, he's getting the ball in the wrong area, he's not progressive enough, he doesn't break the lines enough."

England remain in the World Cup, but the spotlight will remain on Tuchel's team selection for the next round. The Three Lions next face Mexico in the round of 16 in Mexico City on Monday.