Thomas Tuchel has responded sharply to Donald Trump's criticism of his tactics in England's World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina, dismissing the US President's comments as irrelevant.
Tuchel's reaction to Trump's remarks
During a press conference ahead of the third-place playoff against France, a reporter mentioned Trump's criticism of Tuchel's decision to deploy Harry Kane in a deeper role after England took the lead. Tuchel interrupted, saying: 'Do you use Donald Trump as your witness for the case?!'
Trump had earlier told a White House press conference alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino: 'You have a great player in England, who I play golf with, you know that, right? And he is Harry, who has been fantastic. I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player – what do I know about soccer? They took the lead and they took their best player and they put him on defence.'
Tuchel's defense of his decisions
Tuchel explained his thinking during the semi-final, saying: 'I view them in the same way that we got too passive. If you are asking if you regret my decision, if this is the question then no I don't regret my decisions because I felt that we became too passive. I felt that the momentum switches in the match and I tried to help my team. I tried to support, I took several decisions trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience, trusting my competitiveness and I took the decisions to help my team to get the result. We didn't get the result so I take personal responsibility for these decisions but the decisions are made under stress, this is in-game live coaching. I would regret if I didn't try to help, if I didn't react, but I have no regrets over the decisions I made.'
England had taken the lead through Anthony Gordon but Tuchel then substituted on multiple defenders in an attempt to protect the advantage, a tactic that backfired as Argentina scored twice late on to win the semi-final.
Criticism from pundits and players
Tuchel has faced a barrage of criticism from pundits, fans and even his own players since the defeat. He has repeatedly insisted he is not to blame for the loss, despite the backlash. The third-place playoff against France is scheduled for Saturday night, where England will look to end their tournament on a positive note.
