Micah Richards has accused England of ‘expecting to win’ their Round of 32 tie against Congo – after the Three Lions conceded first to go into half-time 1-0 down.
Thomas Tuchel’s men fell behind after just seven minutes in Atlanta when Brian Cipenga laced an effort past Jordan Pickford into the bottom corner.
It came after a passage of ‘poor’ defending, in the words of ex-Man City defender Richards, which saw Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and Djed Spence leave an overload at the far post.
England pushed for an equaliser – and had a huge shout for a penalty on Harry Kane turned down – but couldn’t find an equaliser.
Now, Richards has slammed Tuchel’s side, claiming they showed no ‘organisation or communication’ during the first 45.
He fumed: ‘I don’t know what they’re trying to do. There’s no press, no communication, no organisation. It’s really frustrating watching England play like this because they have got so much more to offer.
England went 1-0 down to DR Congo after Brian Cipenga fired past Jordan Pickford on seven minutes
‘They turned up expecting to win the game. It’s like they were expecting Ghana but Congo are willing to take risks. Everything is too easy.’
He added: ‘I don’t know what they’re trying to do. I’m really confused. It’s so easy for DR Congo to play through the lines.’
It came after Wayne Rooney blasted Tuchel’s side for failing to turn up against a nation ranked some 31 places beneath them in FIFA’s World Rankings.
Rooney said on the BBC: ‘I thought England were very poor in the first 30 minutes. Sloppy, giving the ball away, no intensity, not getting to the ball.
‘DR Congo looked very comfortable. They had the ball, they were doing what they wanted with it really. They get the goal, but from England’s point of view, it was poor.’
The panel also gave their views on the controversial incident which saw Kane denied a penalty after he seemed to have been taken down by Lionel Mpasi.
The England captain had burst in behind the Congolese defence and just pipped their keeper to the ball before dragging his leg into Mpasi and throwing himself to the floor.
His appeals for a spot-kick were however turned down by Adham Makhadmeh, sparking a furious reaction on the England bench.
More to follow.
