Thomas Tuchel has scolded England star Djed Spence over his behaviour after he ignored Tottenham manager Thomas Frank last month.
The England boss was unimpressed with how Spence, who is three caps into his international career, blanked Frank following Spurs’ 1-0 defeat by Chelsea.
Interestingly, Spence was an unused substitute during Thursday’s 2-0 win over Serbia at Wembley despite starting the last international in Latvia in October.
‘Yeah, I didn’t like it,’ said Tuchel, who was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
‘Because the players know they are not only national players when they are the 10 days in camp, they are always national players and the standard of behaviour is always important.’
Tuchel revealed he has spoken to Spence about the incident but did not consider leaving him out of the squad. Jude Bellingham is in line to start here in Tirana, but Ezri Konsa has returned to Aston Villa with a calf issue.
Thomas Tuchel has told off Djed Spence after he ignored Thomas Frank last month
Spence and Micky van de Ven ignored Frank after Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat by Chelsea
Tuchel has also wanred his stars against getting red cards after Cristiano Ronaldo got one
Meanwhile, Tuchel has told his England players to let Albania run through on goal rather than risk a red card and miss matches at next summer’s World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently sweating on his early involvement in North America after his red card against Republic of Ireland this week.
If Portugal qualify automatically and his ban is extended to three matches for violent conduct – he elbowed defender Dara O’Shea – he will miss the first two group games at the World Cup.
Wayne Rooney was also suspended for England’s opening two matches at Euro 2012 after being sent off in the final qualifier.
Tuchel’s side are already qualified and play their final match in Albania on Sunday, and the head coach warned: ‘It is important, I’m aware of it and we will talk about it – no red cards please!
‘Because we are through, and we are in a position with the last man and the player holds the shirt he gets the red card, so if there’s a doubt, then it would be smarter not to do it.
‘If we can avoid it, no red card, but I don’t want to make it too big a subject, because then you have a cloud above you. But if you have the choice, don’t do it.’
