Thomas Tuchel reacts to England's own fans booing Ben White during Uruguay draw

It was a complicated game for a makeshift England and there was a mixed reaction from supporters when Tuchel readied a defensive change in the 69th minute. White was jeered when he was brought on for his first appearance since leaving the 2022 World Cup squad early before he scored the opener to put England ahead. A bizarre cameo was capped off when his stoppage-time foul led to Uruguay equalising through a Fede Valverde penalty.

Tuchel admitted his frustration after seeing White jeered by his own supporters during the match. “I heard that he was booed,” Tuchel said of White. “It cannot be the majority. There were some boos and some mixed reception for him which I’m disappointed about because of course we protect our players. He was excellent in camp and he deserved to come on. He got us almost a winner. But I also understood that it happened to other players before here. So he needs to take it on the chin. We will always protect him and hopefully we can put it behind, because he is ready to write some new chapters.”

Tuchel did not hold back in his assessment of referee Sven Jablonski and the VAR officials. His primary frustration stemmed from the inconsistency of the technology, which failed to intervene on challenges involving Phil Foden and Noni Madueke but recommended an on-field review for White's late foul on Federico Vinas. “It’s a very soft penalty,” Tuchel said. “There’s contact but it’s so obvious what the striker is trying to do. The referee saw it and it was not enough for him. I was surprised VAR was in place because I thought it was not working after the tackle on Phil Foden was not even checked, the tackle on Noni was not even checked. Then suddenly this one was checked.”

The manager experimented in this match with a host of regular starters rested. But England’s fringe players struggled to find a cohesive tempo throughout much of the contest. Despite the result and the crowd reaction, Tuchel insisted he was pleased with the effort shown by his makeshift XI as he continues to evaluate his options ahead of this summer's World Cup. England will face Japan at Wembley on Tuesday.