Thomas Tuchel was visibly furious with Djed Spence during England’s dramatic late comeback victory over DR Congo at the World Cup.
England suffered an early setback in their Round of 32 clash after Brian Cipenga found the net in the seventh minute to hand DR Congo the lead.
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The Three Lions found it difficult to break down a disciplined Congolese defence, while goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi delivered an outstanding display between the posts.
Just before the interval, England felt they should have been awarded a penalty after Harry Kane appeared to be brought down by Mpasi inside DR Congo’s penalty area, but the appeals were waved away.
Tuchel’s frustration was evident after the restart, and in the 61st minute, the England boss was spotted furiously confronting Spence on the touchline, pointing and shouting at the Tottenham defender.
Thomas Tuchel angry at Djed Spence pic.twitter.com/cy1aQtwwVh
— Liam Delap (@EvilDelap) July 1, 2026
It was not the first occasion Tuchel had publicly criticised Spence from the sidelines during this summer’s World Cup, having also shown his displeasure with the Spurs full-back during England’s scoreless group-stage draw against Ghana.
Harry Kane came to England’s rescue with a brace as the Three Lions secured a 2-1 victory and booked a Round of 16 meeting with Mexico.
‘The right-back position is a conundrum,’ said former England defender Micah Richards after the late victory over DR Congo.
‘You’ve had Declan Rice to fill in at right-back, Djed Spence has played only 298 minutes at right-back, he’s used to playing on the left.
‘To someone who hasn’t played full-back, you might think it’s the same, but it’s actually not, your body position is completely different, you’re crossing from one side.
‘He really struggled today, Spence. I don’t want to keep going back to who we haven’t got, but when you’ve got the injury to [Tino] Livramento it’s a problem, when [Jarell] Quansah went out it’s a problem, Reece James.
‘Now you’re thinking could Trent’s [Alexander-Arnold] quality give us something different in this game. Those are the question marks that he [Tuchel] is probably asking himself now.
‘If you want to go with Rice at right-back, you lose Rice’s pace and power in that midfield area. I think there are certainly things England need to look at if they want to go further in this competition.’
