Micah Richards questions ‘bizarre’ Thomas Tuchel decision after England beat France at World Cup

Micah Richards says he ‘can’t get his head around’ Thomas Tuchel’s ‘bizarre’ decision to leave Bukayo Saka as an unused substitute in England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.

Saka was the star of the show as England overcame France in a ten-goal thriller to win Saturday’s pulsating bronze-medal match, with the Arsenal forward scoring three goals to steer his side to a 6-4 victory in Miami.

The 24-year-old winger became only the fourth England player to complete a hat-trick in a World Cup, following in the footsteps of Sir Geoff Hurst, Gary Lineker and captain Harry Kane.

But just three days earlier, Saka was forced to watch on from the sidelines as Argentina, the holders, came from behind to eliminate the Three Lions in dramatic fashion.

Ezri Konsa , Nico O’Reilly, Dan Burn, Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford were all sent on instead in the closing stages, substitutions which Tuchel defended in the face of widespread criticism.

Saka’s hat-trick heroics meant he finished the the tournament with an impressive record of either a goal or an assist to his name every 59 minutes he played of England’s campaign.

‘Of course, I would love to have played more but it’s too late to talk about that,’ Saka told the BBC following England’s defeat of France.

‘I try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now. So let’s move on. I’m fit.’

There were concerns for Saka’s fitness entering into this summers World Cup and Tuchel admitted the attacker was still some way from ‘100 per cent’ prior to England’s group-stage clash with Croatia due to an Achilles problem.

But in the wake of Saka’s outstanding performance against France, The Rest Is Football team were left scratching their heads over Tuchel’s treatment of the Arsenal star.

Ex-England and Manchester City defender Richards said: ‘I understood why Tuchel played Morgan Rogers in that [Argentina] game for the transitions, but for him [Saka] not to come on…

‘We’ve been talking about Saka and his fitness. Him and Rice, their fitness all tournament has been a question, but for him not to feature is just bizarre.

‘I can’t get my head around why you wouldn’t have Saka.’

Richards, who was capped 13 times by England, added: ‘The thing is with Saka as well, he gets you fouls and he gets you up the pitch.

‘How many times have you seen him going down the wing and he puts his arm out and then just buys a foul.’

Former England striker Alan Shearer was left similarly puzzled by Tuchel’s decision to leave Saka on the bench in the semi-final.

He said: ‘We were always told he wasn’t quite right, he wasn’t 100 per cent fit, and if he wasn’t fit then he wasn’t going to start him.

‘So yeah, it was strange that he didn’t at least come on in that semi-final and then to start against France.

‘But it was brilliant for him scoring a hat-trick.’

Another hot topic of conversation throughout England’s campaign surrounded Tuchel’s treatment of Kobbie Mainoo, who finished the tournament without playing a single minute for his country.

However, an official statement from England confirmed that the Manchester United midfielder had been ruled out of the bronze-medal contest due to injury.

‘When he performed for Manchester United last season he was absolutely terrific and England at the Euros two years ago,’ Gary Lineker said of Mainoo.

‘Unless there’s some mystery issue then it’s quite baffling to me.’

Richards speculated that Mainoo’s absence may simply have been a case of the midfielder’s playing style clashing with that of Tuchel.

‘Maybe he doesn’t fit into the way Tuchel wants to play because if you look at Kobbie Mainoo, he’s someone who wants to get on the ball,’ Richards added.

‘We’ve talked about the players who were left out, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, they liked to get on the ball as well.

‘Maybe he just wasn’t suited to what Tuchel wants to do.’

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