Despite taking the lead through a wonderful goal from Anthony Gordon, England were ultimately defeated in disappointing fashion. Having raised hopes of reaching a World Cup final for the first time in 60 years, England were eliminated in the semi-final — and the country’s former footballers are struggling to come to terms with the 2-1 defeat to Argentina.
Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Alan Shearer have all directly criticized England coach Thomas Tuchel, arguing that England erred with their defensive approach after Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute — and that, without that mistake, the outcome could have been different.
In post-match analysis, Rooney said that bringing on a defensive substitute after taking the lead was a major error.
“If you’re an attacking player on the pitch and you see the manager making changes after the team goes 1-0 up, your confidence takes a hit. How many more times are you going to get a pass like that?
“Then you start thinking, ‘Oh no, are we really going to spend all this time defending? How are we supposed to see out the match like this?'”
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart compared Tuchel’s approach in this match to that of former coach Gareth Southgate.
“I think Gareth Southgate is watching this game at home. He faced a lot of criticism whenever England sat back defensively after taking the lead in big games. I don’t think the situation has changed much, even at this huge moment.
“As much as we’ve praised Thomas Tuchel, the speed with which he made those changes suggests to me that he didn’t have faith in his own team — that he didn’t believe they could keep attacking against Argentina.”
Another England legend, Alan Shearer, also criticized Tuchel’s tactics.
“I said during commentary that they had six defenders out there. He wanted to sit back according to his plan and see out the match.
“That approach worked against Norway and Mexico, but it didn’t work against Argentina. Argentina’s ability to keep the ball at their feet, and to punish opponents for mistakes, is on a completely different level — and mentally, they’re a different beast too.
“He shifted his strategy very quickly, hoping to see out the win by sitting deep, but that decision backfired. It was those very decisions that turned the match around.
“We praised him for his approach against Mexico, and now we’re saying the opposite… Couldn’t he have pushed the tempo in attack instead? Argentina were completely rattled, both mentally and physically, after conceding that first goal.”
