Tuchel says City-linked errors costly as England lose 3-2 to Spain at Wembley
England lost 3-2 to Spain at Wembley on Saturday, a match Thomas Tuchel said featured mistakes from players with Manchester City connections that influenced the result. Tuchel told reporters he could imagine the Manchester City players being distracted by the club's recent guilty verdict.
The game involved several players who had been associated with Manchester City, and two errors by City-linked players — Nico O'Reilly and Marc Guehi — directly led to Spain goals while Rodri conceded a penalty for Spain. The remarks came just a day after BBC Sport reported Manchester City had been found guilty of breaking the majority of 115 financial rules following a four-year investigation into alleged inflated sponsorship revenue and other "off the books" payments between 2009 and 2018.
On the field, Guehi was beaten by Lamine Yamal on the edge of his own box, allowing the Spain winger to drive toward goal and slot in the opener. In the second half, Rodri's late challenge on Jude Bellingham resulted in a penalty, which Harry Kane struck against the crossbar after slipping. Later, O'Reilly had a pass intercepted deep in his own half that led to Alex Baena's equaliser at 2-2.
Three City-associated players — Elliot Anderson, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly — started for England, while Rodri was named in Spain's XI; three of those four players made significant errors during the match. The club-departure detail in the report noted Rodri had spent seven years at Manchester City, and the article states Guehi, Rodri and O'Reilly all made their City debuts after the period covered by the charges.
Asked whether the verdict was a distraction after the Wembley defeat, Tuchel said: "Not for me but I can imagine for the Manchester City players. "For the players who have more time than me, for sure I can imagine they talk about it." Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, speaking to ITV Sport, added: "In top level football you want to be focused and they certainly would have been affected. "To see so many top-class players make so many mistakes - it has certainly affected them." England captain Harry Kane told ITV Sport: "There was a discussion, but at the end of the day when we're with England we kind of put club football to one side and it was no different this week."
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told supporters a few hours before kick-off that he remained confident the club would prove its innocence and said the "Premier League process still has a long way to run". Spain captain Rodri also spoke at a news conference on Friday, saying: "They always express the confidence that they never did something wrong and we believe in that," he said. "Until the moment they are proved wrong, we will believe the club. They always tell us the confidence they have on the innocence."
The charges cover the managerial tenures of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini and the first two years under Pep Guardiola, with the article noting Guardiola left the club after 10 seasons at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. Between 2009 and 2018, the club were recorded as having won the Premier League and EFL Cup three times and the FA Cup once, according to the report.
Sanctions for Manchester City are yet to be announced; the article states repercussions could include a points deduction, expulsion from the Premier League or a huge fine, and that Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice about potential compensation.