Thomas Tuchel is in the firing line on Thursday morning, a place he will remain for the foreseeable future as a result of his mind-boggling decisions at the World Cup. There is no shame in losing 2-1 at the semi-final stage to Lionel Messi and the defending champions, but the nature of the defeat has sparked huge outrage and calls for the England manager to be sacked.
England led 1-0 through Anthony Gordon and appeared on course to reach their first final since that famous night in 1966. But intervention from Messi saw the iconic veteran grab two assists in the closing stages, one each to Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, to break English hearts. Here, Express Sport has taken a look at the mistakes Tuchel made in North America and where he can learn from, as he appears set to continue in his role…
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Misuse of Saka and Madueke
Bukayo Saka spent the entire World Cup nursing an injury. That was perhaps to be expected, but deciding to bring Noni Madueke as his alternative was a controversial decision at the time and those criticisms have since been justified.
England’s second-choice right-winger has been forced to play a larger role than perhaps expected. But this was always possible due to Saka’s fitness concerns, which were evident months before a ball was kicked in North America.
So it baffles that Tuchel opted for the Arsenal star’s clubmate and stand-in, rather than another winger who can make a real difference at the top level.
Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen were left at home. So too were Phil Foden and Harvey Barnes. Players capable of leading teams in big moments. But Tuchel shied away and picked someone he knew was unlikely to cause a scene if there were scant appearances thrown in his d
Retreating vs Argentina
Perhaps the biggest mistake was the bizarre tactic of allowing Argentina as much time and space as they fancied once Gordon had scored.
Sitting back while ahead is not a foreign concept. But England did not have to change a single thing in order to win that tie.
Football is a simple game. If you give the best player to ever kick a ball enough touches of it, he will produce goals.
And that’s exactly what England did. Harry Kane claimed the messaging was to attack, but actions speak louder than words – bringing on three defenders while 1-0 up did not inspire confidence.
A World Cup final was in reach but England, and Tuchel, were too afraid to grab it.
Snubbing star players
When push came to shove, England relied on Ezri Konsa’s deep crosses to salvage anything in the final knockings of their defeat to Argentina.
Few would be surprised that they amounted to very little. Konsa is, largely, a centre-back and should not be trusted to create something in a game of such magnitude.
Had Tuchel wanted, the person firing in those crosses could have been Trent Alexander-Arnold. One of the finest to ever deliver a ball.
And if England’s plan was to defend from their own box when taking any lead in the knockout stages – why was Harry Maguire overlooked? Dan Burn built himself into a cult hero but the Manchester United man has just as much pedigree. There are few better at defending their own box and perhaps Martinez would not have had all the time and space in the world to head home the winner.
Didn’t pay attention to set-pieces
Indefensible. Arsenal won the title and reached the Champions League final largely off the back of set-pieces. The Gunners were represented by four players, but Tuchel did not utilise dead-ball situations anywhere close to the same degree as Mikel Arteta.
Set-pieces are the cheapest way to gain an advantage, in terms of the time and money spent to get a goal.
But while only three teams (USA, Argentina and Bosnia & Herzegovina) scored more goals in that area, the ball was dropped defensively.
On countless occasions, Messi played a short corner, only to receive it back with plenty of space in a one-on-one opportunity.
England never brought a second man out short to help. They thought the threat was inside the box.
The threat is Messi. Always.
And Tuchel finally paid the price when a similar routine saw Messi in acres of space to find Chelsea’s Fernandez, who rifled an effort past Jordan Pickford.
England fans in Atlanta devastated after Argentina loss
Too scared to take Kane off
With Tuchel happy to let Argentina dominate possession, surely pace on the counter was required. Gordon was hauled off 17 minutes after scoring, as England’s biggest threat in behind, leaving Kane and Bellingham up top with little to go after.
For all their talents, England needed someone capable of chasing a ball played in behind, to get them up the pitch.
Kane dropped deep and gave his all but the second-half tactics rendered the striker ineffective.
Had Tuchel decided to drop deep, but with genuine counter-attacking threats such as Gordon, Marcus Rashford, and Ollie Watkins, they may well still be in the competition.
But keeping Kane on allowed Argentina to push forward without fear of being caught out.
When you give a team of their capabilities the ball, time on it and no reason to fear losing it, the semi-final was only going to end one way.
