Some England players bemused by Thomas Tuchel subs in Argentina World Cup semi-final defeat | Football News
A number of England players – including more than one senior player – were bemused by Thomas Tuchel’s defensive substitutions in the World Cup semi-final against Argentina, Sky Sports News understands.
It is understood that those Three Lions players thought the changes hindered rather than enhanced their chances of winning.
Seventeen minutes after Anthony Gordon had given England the lead, and with the tide turning decisively in Argentina’s favour as Tuchel’s team dropped deeper in defence, the head coach brought on Ezri Konsa for the goalscorer and switched to a back-five with more than half an hour to play.
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Watch Gary Neville’s best bits on England’s exit to Argentina in the semi-final.
Ten minutes later, Tuchel substituted Declan Rice – who has struggled with illness and fitness issues during the tournament – for Nico O’Reilly, meaning England had six defenders on the pitch, four of whom were centre-backs.
Harry Kane also dropped deeper to help defend the repeated waves of Argentina attacks, spearheaded by Lionel Messi.
Those with reservations about the tactics inside the camp felt England had no out-ball, no one to hold the ball up in attacking areas and no one to run the ball down the flanks, which might have alleviated the pressure on the defence.
Throughout this tournament, England’s attacking focus has been on using pacy wingers – and Argentina’s full-backs had been identified as an area of weakness.
Ultimately, it was Morgan Rogers on the right wing who set up Gordon on the left wing for the goal that gave England the lead in the 55th minute.
But after that goal, Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze all remained on the bench. Marcus Rashford came on in the 96th minute, by which time England were 2-1 down after late strikes from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez completed the Argentine turnaround.
No rift in England squad
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Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett explains why Thomas Tuchel has defended his tactics, blaming England’s ‘DNA’ for their World Cup exit
In the period between Gordon’s goal and Martinez’s stoppage-time winner, England had just 12 per cent possession.
Tuchel said afterwards that, even though he had not yet had a chance to review the game, he thought the problem was systemic in English football and that the players weren’t able to maintain possession under pressure.
He did not think his tactics were wrong. Instead, his plan in going to a back five was to try to cut out the crosses flying into England’s box and limit Argentina’s space after they’d brought on left winger Nico Gonzalez and shifted Messi to the right wing in a 4-2-4 formation.
But Sky Sports News has been told some of England’s players think differently. They felt the substitutions were negative, making it increasingly difficult for England’s defence to get respite and for them to keep the ball.
It is not yet known how they feel about Tuchel’s suggestion that there is a weakness in English football’s DNA which means they are different from Spanish, Argentinian and Brazilian footballers who are more adept at maintaining possession in difficult circumstances.
There is no suggestion that there is a rift in the England camp or any animosity from the players towards Tuchel, who remains an incredibly popular and authoritative leader of the squad.
Furthermore, Tuchel maintains the full backing of his FA bosses following the defeat, and the coach himself has said he is “100 per cent” committed to staying in his role for Euro 2028, at which England will enjoy home advantage as a co-host along with Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
