Former England winger Andros Townsend has defended manager Thomas Tuchel after England's 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final, insisting the German coach was not at fault for the late collapse.
Argentina's Comeback
Argentina came from behind with two late goals in Atlanta to beat England 2-1 and book a spot in the World Cup final against Spain. Anthony Gordon put England ahead on 55 minutes, but the Three Lions could not capitalise. Instead, they retreated, with Tuchel switching to a back five and making defensive substitutions, allowing Argentina to attack at will. Enzo Fernandez equalised on 85 minutes, before Lautaro Martinez headed in a winner in stoppage time.
Townsend's Analysis
Townsend told talkSPORT: 'What Argentina did really changed the course of the game rather than anything Thomas Tuchel did. I've watched the second half twice since the game finished, it's been trauma but I wanted to make sure I spoke with sense. After England scored, Gordon didn't have many touches because he was having to chase Argentina back the other way. Argentina made changes, they went to a 3-1-6 in the 65th minute they brought on Nico Gonzalez.'
Townsend explained that Tuchel tried to stay brave as long as possible: 'Thomas Tuchel tried to stay brave as long as he could, defending a 4-4-2 against a 3-1-6 is quite stupid, but he left that XI out until the hydration break, when he thought he couldn't leave it any longer. I'm going to have to make a change, I'm going to have to be a bit more defensive. 5-3-2. He gave that unit as long as possible to try and get themselves back into the game. But 20 minutes after the goal, England had probably one or two attacks, they couldn't get themselves into the game, so the manager had to make a change, to try and contain it.'
Defending Messi
Townsend also defended Tuchel's decision to bring on defender Nico O'Reilly to mark Lionel Messi, rather than an attacker like Marcus Rashford: 'I think Nico O'Reilly was the right change. Every game, Messi starts high and tries to get the ball in the pockets as the game goes on he drops deeper and deeper and deeper. You saw the positions he was picking up in the second half, it was like a centre midfield position on the right. That's what he likes to do. Thomas Tuchel getting Nico O'Reilly on to defend Messi in the left wing position was a smarter choice than getting a [Marcus] Rashford on to mark Lionel Messi. That doesn't make sense.'
Players' Nerves
Instead of blaming the manager, Townsend felt the players' nerves were natural but ultimately cost England: 'Imagine you haven't won a World Cup in 60 years, you're 30 minutes away from a World Cup final. You don't want to be the man to be the scapegoat, you make a mistake. It's natural for a player to think ok, we're going to be defensive first because I'm not going to be the man that makes a mistake. I think that honest way of thinking cost them the game.'
