The Wembley crowd was in party mood and the fans sang Thomas Tuchel's name. Three straight wins without conceding, Harry Kane feted as England's greatest ever servant, a Nations League quarter-final all-but guaranteed. Some 83 days after England succumbed to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, we'd moved on.
And then Tuchel showed that he hasn't, and revealed his underlying bitterness and hurt. The England boss is clearly still smarting from the vociferous criticism that came at him from all angles following the World Cup exit. And now, when all had been forgotten, if not forgiven, it was Tuchel who brought the subject back up.
He'd made it very clear at the start of this extended international break that he wanted to look forward rather than back. We know that he'd had clear-the-air talks with the England players who had lingering anger at his public criticism of them and their sub-standard 'DNA', but Tuchel stressed it is now all about the bright new future, with an assault on the Nations League trophy and, ultimately, the Euros in two years' time. But, feeling re-emboldened after a very positive autumn for his England team, he bit back at those pesky journalists who'd dared to question whether he got the tactics wrong when 1-0 up and close to reaching a first World Cup final in 60 years.
Asked whether he'd seen an improvement in mood, confidence and momentum since the end of the World Cup, he replied: "Yeah, I do. It's necessary to move on and I can only repeat: we didn't go out in the group stage. It often feels like that.
But we didn't." A follow-up question asked him whether he felt the scrutiny and assessment of England's World Cup exit had been too harsh, and Tuchel's response was pointed and said with a scornful tone and a stern expression. "In between, it felt a little bit like it, yeah. (Why?) Why? Were you in the press conference before the France game? (Me?
No, I wasn't there.) Yeah. You would have known why." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The tense exchange came after a three-week camp where sources had told Sky Sports News just how positive the mood had been, and how optimistic the players and staff are about what lies ahead. Tuchel and the squad were as one again, the "Brotherhood" Tuchel craved, back together again.
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