Wayne Rooney did not hold back in his criticism of England manager Thomas Tuchel after the Three Lions lost 2-1 to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Speaking as a pundit on BBC One, Rooney lambasted Tuchel's defensive substitutions, which he said cost England the match.
Rooney's Verdict: 'A Panic'
Rooney described Tuchel's decision to replace goalscorer Anthony Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa, and later bring on Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly while removing Declan Rice and Reece James, as "a real panic." He told BBC One: "It's a panic, it's a real panic. You can't go a goal up and then surrender. Surrender the ball and surrender any opportunity of trying to get the second goal."
England had taken the lead through Gordon early in the second half but then saw their possession drop to just 12% between the goal and Enzo Fernandez's equaliser. Within two minutes of play resuming after Tuchel's changes, Argentina levelled, and Lautaro Martinez completed the comeback late on.
Players Lost Belief
Rooney argued that the substitutions undermined the players' confidence. "If you're on that pitch, go 1-0 up and then see the changes the manager is making... you are losing belief," he said. "There's only so many times you can get away with it. You start thinking 'we're going to sit back, how are we going to get through this?'"
He added: "We got ourselves in such a good position, and then we didn't know what to do. We sat back, we allowed them to come onto us. They were creating a number of chances, then we cracked. Really disappointed."
Tuchel's Gamble Backfires
Rooney directly blamed Tuchel for the defeat, calling his approach a "gamble" that backfired. "Once we got the first goal, we didn't look to go for the second goal. For the players, and for me, Thomas Tuchel made the decision, and when you make the decision, it is a gamble," he said. "The gamble he made was to go with five at the back, which allowed them to dictate the game. The decisions Thomas Tuchel made, we have to be honest, have cost us tonight."
He also noted the fans' investment: "These fans have spent a lot of money to be out here. I expected more in this game."
Other Pundits Join Criticism
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart also questioned Tuchel's tactics, drawing a comparison to predecessor Gareth Southgate. "I think Gareth Southgate will be at home watching this game having taken a lot of criticism when it came to the big moments. England in big moments having taken the lead and shutting up shop," Hart said. "I don't see that anything has changed in that big moment out there. Thomas Tuchel, for as much praise as we've given him, for him to change it as soon as he did… I think that's him saying he didn't believe in his team, that they couldn't land any more punches on Argentina."
Micah Richards echoed the sentiment: "You've summed it up perfectly. Tuchel was brought in to be the difference. Tactically, we all thought he got it wrong, in terms of the changes when we went to five at the back. I thought we could have kept the momentum going by bringing on wingers and going a little bit higher up the pitch. Ultimately, we just didn't have the answers."
