Thomas Tuchel gets into ‘altercation’ moments before England’s clash with Mexico

England manager Thomas Tuchel was left frustrated at the photographers ahead of his side’s clash with Mexico.

Tuchel, who has already spoken out about his anger regarding the positions of the media, was involved in an altercation.

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Photographers typically gather around the dugouts to take pictures of the managers and players during the national anthems.

talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham was watching the touchline pre-match inside the Azteca on Sunday and noticed the heated moment.

Durham revealed on-air: “Thomas Tuchel had an altercation with the photographers. He did get to see his team sing the national anthem, it was settled very quickly.”

Thankfully, things didn’t boil over for Tuchel ahead of the game, as things certainly started off hot on the pitch.

Declan Rice was shown a yellow card after a matter of seconds in the last 16 tie, catching Luis Romo with a high boot.

Harry Kane was also then involved in a scuffle with an opponent as he wrestled to get the ball back for a free-kick.

talkSPORT commentator Jim Proudfoot said: “This is very feisty inside the opening five minutes…you can tell this is going to be a tough game for the officials to police.”  

Former England captain Stuart Pearce added: “The coolest head needs to be from the referee. He doesn’t need to get involved in silly nonsense to slow the game down.”

The Three Lions managed to ride that initial rough wave, going on to score two goals in two minutes before half-time, with Jude Bellingham netting twice before Mexico got a goal back.

The referee may have kept a cool head, as Pearce wanted, but the players didn’t, with Jarell Quansah being sent off early in the second half following a tackle that caused a sideline brawl.

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Thankfully for Tuchel’s side though, they would win a penalty on the hour mark, with Kane dispatching his 14th World Cup goal.

Forcing a change

Tuchel was clearly still frustrated with the photographers at the World Cup, despite FIFA making a change already.

The German had complained about their positioning on the touchline after England’s first game of the tournament.

He said: “I have to tell you something, I am begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem because I could not see my team in the national anthem.

“I was waiting for this moment. It was a very, very special moment today and I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, half a metre away, and I could not see one single player.

“It ruined a little bit my experience.

“It is very emotional. When I was young and when I started coaching, this was too big to dream of this kind of occasion.”

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Following those comments, FIFA opted to make a switch to their protocol to make managers like Tuchel less crowded.

Coaches are now being moved further down the touchline for the iconic pre-match scene during the anthems.

It’s unknown what caused the altercation between Tuchel and the photographers even after the change.

But the England boss appeared to get frustrated again…