'The effort was there' - Tuchel on speaking to Foden & Rashford

England head coach Thomas Tuchel says he has spoken to Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden after they struggled during Friday's win over Albania - and that they know he "appreciates" their effort.

Rashford and Foden failed to make a significant impression in the German's first game in charge of the Three Lions, with Tuchel saying immediately after the 2-0 victory they were "not as impactful as they can be".

England face Latvia at Wembley on Monday in their second 2026 World Cup qualifier.

"I have spoken to both of them and in front of the group," Tuchel told BBC Sport. "They know that I appreciate the effort, especially off the ball.

"We can see in the numbers how much effort they put into defending high and in the counter-press.

"Marcus had a lot of runs when we had the ball where we did not see him, where we did not use him. He was a little bit unlucky maybe with the timing and from time to time we oversaw him.

"Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have. But both of them are very positive, they have every right to be positive and know exactly what we want from them.

"But off the ball, the effort was there and that's what counts."

Forward Rashford, on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, was making his first England start in more than a year, while Foden has endured a difficult season with Manchester City.

Tuchel, who will be without Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon because of a hip injury, says he is "not afraid" to make changes for the Latvia game - but that nobody would be dropped "from a performance point of view".

How long will it take for Tuchel to shape England?

Debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly and captain Harry Kane scored to give England a comfortable yet unconvincing win against Albania.

Speaking after the match, Tuchel admitted his side "have to do better" but that they would take it "step-by-step".

Asked on Sunday how long it would take to turn the Three Lions into a team that reflects him as a head coach, Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I cannot tell you how long it takes. I'm very impatient myself so hopefully we'll see glimpses or maybe a full match tomorrow, who knows?

"The most important thing is everyone is open to adapting and everyone is excited and puts the effort in, then we'll trust the process.

"It was a very intense week because you want to squeeze everything into the eight or nine days you have the players. Then you have to accept reality that at some point it can also be too much, which is why we gave them a day to breathe yesterday.

"It's very, very intense - it feels like a training camp, a pre-season in club football and then we're back to observing and keeping contact with the players until June."

What does 'better' look like?

With England looking to meet Tuchel's demands for improvement and continue his winning start, what does "better" actually look like?

"More structured, still a higher rhythm, more penetration in the opponent's box and more runs off the ball," said the German on Sunday.

"I think the most important thing was from the excitement and input throughout the week, we could see everyone was ready.

"Still we have room to improve. We can be more aggressive, we played a lot of passes, especially in the first half - when it comes to the last 20 metres, we have to think more about scoring a goal.

"That's what we're trying to do and maybe we can show it tomorrow."

Who could come in against Latvia?

With Tuchel suggesting changes would be made, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, Morgan Rogers and Dominic Solanke are all pushing to be involved in Monday's game.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager, 51, also said it was "very likely" Nottingham Forest forward Morgan Gibbs-White would be included in the squad, having been left out for Friday's match.

However, Tuchel said nobody would finding out if they were in his side until the day of the game - something he described as "common procedure".

"I don't know another way," said Tuchel. "Sometimes I need the last night to get my ideas in the right order.

"It's just a common procedure for me to give it in the morning or even the afternoon of an evening game."

Who would you pick in your England team to face Latvia? Would you make changes after the win over Albania? Have a go at naming your line-up below.