. England head coach Thomas Tuchel has been heavily criticised for his tactical decisions following his defeat to Argentina in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
England took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute and the excessive defensiveness adopted in the last 37 minutes was the main reason for the team’s defeat. England were in control of the game until the 72
nd minute. However, England’s attack was disrupted when Anthony Gordon was replaced by defender Ezri Koonsa. Tuchel moved the team from a back-four to a back-five, making it easier for Argentina to put pressure on them.
After 10 minutes, defender Nico O’Reilly was sent on in place of midfielder Declan Rice, forcing England to shrink inside their own penalty area. In the last 25 minutes of the game, Argentina controlled the ball 92 percent of the time.
During this period, England could complete only 5 passes, which shows how much pressure the team was under. Contrary to the expectation that the addition of defensive players would ease the pressure, England gave the likes of Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandes plenty of space to play freely and weave attacks.
On the other hand, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made a bold decision to send striker Lautaro Martinez down the defender.
This made England’s defence even more chaotic. Messi’s two brilliant moves and two passes finally ended England’s World Cup run. Tuchel has made another mistake by bringing on the likes of Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney with just a few minutes left in the game.
Tuchel took full responsibility for the defeat and said after the game that he was ready to face criticism.
“We created a deep defensive perimeter to preserve the lead, but we couldn’t control or snatch the ball,” he said. When you are defeated, it is natural to question the decisions you make. However, football analysts have said that England’s historic opportunity has been missed due to Tuchel’s negative football.
England will now face France for third place on Saturday.
Argentina will face Spain in the final on Sunday to defend their title. For England, this defeat has once again become a painful moment even if it is very close. ANI
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