Thomas Tuchel sends Thomas Frank clear message after Djed Spence decision for England
Djed Spence did not play a single minute for England during the November international break.
Spence was one of several Tottenham stars called up for international duty while the club season paused for the final time in 2025.
His integration into the England national team came earlier this year when Spence became the first Muslim player to represent the Three Lions.
However, the fullback has since seen his importance decline for both club and country in a turn of events that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Nico O’Reilly starts over Djed Spence for England
Spence starred for England during the October international break, but failed to see the pitch in either of their World Cup Qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.
Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly was Thomas Tuchel‘s pick for both games.
In fairness to the 20-year-old, he was excellent from left back.
- O’Reilly won 90 per cent of his duels across both games
- His dribbles were 100 per cent successful
- He recovered 4.0 balls per game
Furthermore, O’Reilly made 1.5 tackles per game and was not dribbled past once, according to Sofascore.
He even could’ve bagged the assist of the season deep into their second half against Albania when Bukayo Saka scuffed his shot after the fullback flicked the ball into his path.
It was a complete performance from beginning to end, and while Spence will likely be called up for the 2026 World Cup, his starting spot is under serious threat.
Thomas Tuchel makes Djed Spence feelings clear
Tuchel has a reputation for being a no-nonsense manager, and that hasn’t changed since becoming the Three Lions head coach.
Tottenham stars Spence and Micky van de Ven were torn to shreds after ignoring Thomas Frank following Spurs’ 1-0 home defeat by Chelsea earlier this month.
Speaking over the international break, the German coach made his feelings on the situation abundantly clear.
“I don’t like it,” he said.
“Because the players know they are not only national players when they are ten days in camp. They are always national players, and the standard of behaviour is always important.”
With this in mind, Spence’s treatment during the recent international break may not have come as a surprise.
The defender did win all three of his tackles against Manchester United, completing three clearances and five recoveries, and that is what he must let do the talking, not a supposed attitude problem.
Tuchel may simply have been sending a message to both Frank and Spence that his behaviour was not appreciated and will not be tolerated.
All things considered, it will be interesting to see how many minutes, if any, he’ll receive next year.
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