Thomas Tuchel defends controversial decisions as England manger faces backlash over World Cup defeat
Well, the dream isn’t over LADs, it just lives on… once again.
Last night’s (15 July) World Cup semi-final saw the end of the Three Lions’ journey for international victory this year as Argentina beat us 2-1.
And while we had the people’s princess, Anthony Gordon’s delicious goal to cling on to and Djed Spence’s unbelievable tackle, it just wasn’t enough.
So, naturally, the blame game has begun.
Advert
From the controversy over the referee to the general agginess of the match, Thomas Tuchel is of course facing a fair bit of criticism and backlash. The England manager defended his decisions, as his choice of subs in the semi-final at Atlanta Stadium proved to be controversial.
Pundits such as Micah Richards and fans called out the German for a string of defensive substitutions rather than building the attack.
In the post-match punditry on the BBC, Richards said: “Thomas Tuchel was brought in to be the difference. Tactically, we all thought he got it wrong today.
"When we went to five at the back. I thought we could have kept the momentum going and brought on wingers. Ultimately, we didn't have the answers."
And Wayne Rooney claimed: “The decisions Thomas Tuchel made, we have to be honest on this, have cost us tonight.”
While fans on X slammed: “What was Tuchel even thinking while making these subs?”
“The moment I saw Tuchel make those subs I knew England were losing,” another wrote.
One put: “This is on Tuchel. Cowardly subs. Inviting this lot on to you only ends one way.”
While a second said: “I really like Tuchel but I’m not sure about these subs though.”
But speaking to the BBC afterwards, the manager defended his choices, as he said: “I did also offensive substitutions in the last games, we just tried to help the players.
"We conceded [a chance] straight away and we decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open. They won every header, they kept crossing and crossing so we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air.
"Straight after our goal, without any substitutions, we conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances so we tried to help.
“Of course, the responsibility is on the coach and if it doesn't go well, it is easy to say it was wrong."
The manager said the team were ‘disappointed’ after being ‘so close’ but that they were ‘too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances’.
Despite the criticism and backlash, Tuchel has kept the backing of the FA and it’s expected that he will stay on to lead England into Euro 2028.
"We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros," he said.
"I'm looking forward to that even though right now it's difficult to look that far ahead.
"A lot of big football nations are eliminated before the semi-final, so it is an achievement.
"No-one wants to hear that at the moment; me neither because we demand the most of ourselves. That's just the nature of being competitive."
Jess Battison