Thomas Tuchel pointed the blame at himself and took full responsibility after England collapsed late on to lose their World Cup semi-final 2-1 to Argentina in Atlanta. With just six minutes of normal time remaining, the Three Lions were leading and dreaming of a first final since 1966. But they ultimately paid for adopting a conservative approach after taking the lead, with Tuchel's substitutions proving costly.
Substitutions Backfire
Tuchel took goalscorer Gordon off for Ezri Konsa in the 72nd minute, moving to a three-at-the-back formation. With only eight minutes remaining, he brought on both Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly for Reece James and Declan Rice. That meant Tuchel's side had no outlet as Argentina piled on the pressure. Enzo Fernandez fired in a 20-yard equaliser after a corner in the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martinez headed in from close range after a perfect Lionel Messi cross two minutes into stoppage time.
Wayne Rooney's Criticism
Wayne Rooney strongly criticised Tuchel post-match on the BBC, saying the manager got his set-up wrong in the final stages. Tuchel acknowledged the criticism but defended his decisions, stating: "We were disappointed. We were so close. We got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances. We could not turn the ball possession around and just conceded so many crosses and chances and shots."
Tuchel's Defense
Asked about his substitutions, Tuchel said: "I also made offensive substitutions in the last games. We tried to help the players. We conceded straight away. We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open, they won every header and kept crossing. We went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air because straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we conceded way too many crosses and chances. The responsibility is on the coach. If it doesn't go well, it's easy to say it was wrong."
He added: "It doesn't help if you don't have the ball. We couldn't get out. We wanted to go for the second goal but I had not the feeling that offensive substitutions would help. We stayed in our 4-4-2 but became more and more passive, we couldn't win any balls or keep the ball. It was not a structural problem. We changed nothing after the goal, but the match changed completely."
No Regrets
Tuchel insisted he had no regrets: "I can understand these discussions. You can discuss this with a million coaches. I have to make a decision on the pitch. I take the responsibility. No regrets in the moment. The team gave everything and we were very, very close. We deserved to be 1-0 up, we played one of our better matches, maybe the best match in the circumstances. The team was top. We couldn't bring it over the line."
Asked if England fans ever saw a 'Tuchel team', he replied: "I have no answer for that question because I don't really know what that means. I think we saw the mentality throughout the match and the strong group and we played the matches how they were. We played against strong teams in the group and a lot of miles, a lot of travelling, we played at altitude, we played with 10 men, we played in the heat. We overcame every obstacle. We were very, very close today. It's not the moment now to analyse the full tournament. We just went out because we lost a crucial match."
Captain's Heartbreak
Captain Harry Kane told the BBC: "Just gutted, gutted for the boys, for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans. We played a good game for the large majority of it. We tried to hold on but at this level it's not enough. Just gutting. We've worked so hard to be there and the lads have given every last bit of sweat, blood, tears, everything. To fall short is just gutting. After the goal, whether it was them putting more forward or us not being able to match them, it was wave after wave. In the end it wasn't good enough."
Kane added: "When we went ahead, the message was to go again and get another goal. Once they scored their two goals, we couldn't get a bit of momentum back in the game. We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, we're close but we need to find that missing piece in the final stages of the tournament. These tournaments take it out of you. So much effort and pressure and mentality. We've shown a lot of that but we're just missing that final piece."
