England boss Thomas Tuchel should not be judged on “nonsense” World Cup qualifiers, says Wayne Rooney.
The Three Lions host Andorra and visit Serbia in Group K during the next five days.
England have beaten Albania 2-0, Latvia 3-0 and Andorra 1-0 in Tuchel’s first three competitive matches in charge.
“I think he’s a top manager,” Rooney said on his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show.
“He’s maybe got a little bit of stick about the way that England played, and those games are just nonsense really.
“You turn up and you just know England are going to win the game. It’s 10 men sitting behind the ball and you’ve got to break them down, which is not easy against any team.”
Rooney scored 53 goals in 120 caps for England between 2003 and 2018.
“I used to love playing for England. Watching England now and some of the games, you know they’re going to win, it can be a bit boring. Obviously getting into the tournament, that’s when you enjoy it,” he said.
“The last few games, it was against Andorra or something like that. It was painful.
“[I feel] sorry for Thomas Tuchel because he probably wants a decent game where he can go and show what he can do. It’s a no-win [situation] really.”
Tuchel’s England contract runs until the end of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Two wins in the next week would take them close to sealing their place there with three qualifiers to spare.
Rooney added: “I think for Thomas Tuchel, you want to see England having to sit back and defend and having tactically to break down teams.
“Against the better teams [that chance] will come. So, I think he’ll do really well for England. Whether they’ll win the World Cup… you don’t know, I think that he’s got one shot, hasn’t he?”
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