Croatian football legend Davor Suker has rounded on England manager Thomas Tuchel, accusing him of spouting "nonsense" after the coach claimed his squad doesn't want to contest the World Cup bronze medal match against France in Miami.
England has a chance to secure their finest World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966 if they finish third. Both England and France are nursing the wounds of semi-final losses to Argentina and Spain respectively.
There's been debate about scrapping the third-place play-off altogether, now branded the Bronze match by FIFA. It remains unclear whether Tuchel will field his strongest players or rotate his squad.
Before the clash, Tuchel told journalists that neither team wanted to play in the match. His remarks infuriated Suker, who guided Croatia to third place at the 1998 World Cup in France.
Suker scored the winning goal in that playoff and scooped the Golden Boot ahead of Ronaldo. Goal reported his response to Tuchel's comments.
"I think the rich don't want to play when they've lost," Suker said. "Some have so many trophies and so much money that this match means nothing to them."
He continued: "My advice to them is simple: stay quiet, respect all 211 nations competing, and understand that the world doesn't exist only for them."
"It belongs to medium-sized nations, small nations, and those who simply love the game," he added.
England stars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham face a similar opportunity as Suker did decades ago. A strong performance in the bronze match could see either player chase the Golden Boot award.
Both currently trail France's Kylian Mbappe by two goals in the race for the honour. Mbappe himself sits behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who has eight goals and four assists with one final still to be played.
"This match matters a great deal," Suker told reporters. "After 1998 and our game against the Netherlands, we fought for third place, and I can speak about it with genuine pride today."
He stressed the lasting value of such achievements. "Whoever wins bronze, I promise you that in 20 years they'll remember that medal with pride," he said.
"Tuchel simply doesn't understand this," Suker concluded. "In this whole scenario, he's irrelevant and he's talking complete nonsense."
