England's Thomas Tuchel Responds to Coaching Criticism After World Cup Loss
Newsweek · C · trust 42/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. England was on the brink of returning to their first World Cup final in 60 years, but Lionel Messi and Argentina staged a thrilling comeback to win 2-1 in the second half of the semifinals.
The blame for what went wrong ultimately landed on England boss Thomas Tuchel, who received strong criticism over the significant substitutions he made in the match. Speaking at a post-match press conference, Tuchel indicated that he accepts that criticism, as it comes with the territory of his job.
"I believe that's just the nature of the game," Tuchel calmly told reporters. "As soon as you lose, you get criticized, that's just what it is, and you get criticized after. No one knows what would have happened if we made different decisions, so it makes no sense to engage in that and lose my head."
"I'm responsible for them, I took them, so I take the criticism, that's just the way it is," he said, per Sky Sports News .
After a scoreless first half, England's Anthony Gordon brought things to life with a goal at the 55-minute mark. After that, England chose to defend, rather than continue attacking and potentially score more goals to secure their lead.
After Gordon was his team's scorer, Tuchel subbed him out at 72 minutes, bringing in Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa. When Reece James went down at the 82-minute mark, he appeared fine, but Tuchel brought in defender Dan Burn, just in case.
He would also pull midfielder Declan Rice then, who had been dealing with injuries and illness ahead of the semifinals. Another defender, Nico O'Reilly, was the substitute, as Tuchel wanted to preserve Rice for the final.
However, Enzo Fernandez scored the equalizer at the 85-minute mark for Argentina. Then, Lautaro Martinez scored a header in the first two minutes of stoppage time to give Argentina a late lead, causing panic for England.
Once, Tuchel's side was in trouble late, he subbed in Marcus Rashford for Djed Spence and Ivan Toney for John Stones. Both players came in at six minutes into stoppage time to try to help attack, but it seemed too little, too late.
Argentina stunned England with the win, as Messi assisted on both goals to help the reigning champions earn a shot at winning another World Cup. They'll play Lamine Yamal and Spain in the final on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET for the ultimate prize.
Meanwhile, Tuchel and England aren't quite done yet and can still earn third place for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They'll face Kylian Mbappe and France in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET on Fox.
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