England manager Thomas Tuchel faced sharp criticism after his team's 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, with former players and pundits questioning the tactical approach that saw the Three Lions surrender a second-half lead.
England looked on course for the final after Anthony Gordon put them ahead in the 55th minute. However, the side gradually retreated into a defensive shape, allowing Argentina to dominate possession and create sustained pressure. The defending champions equalised through Enzo Fernandez's long-range strike in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martinez headed home the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
Former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was highly critical of England's approach, arguing that Tuchel's side became too passive after taking the lead.
“England fell in the trap of fear,” was former Germany keeper Oliver Kahn’s assessment on Zee5 after the game ended. “From the point England scored and took the lead, they were only defending. Against Argentina this is not possible. They were almost playing with 10 defenders by the end of the game.”
Kahn also questioned the thinking behind Tuchel's tactical decisions.
“We should ask Tuchel what he was thinking. These kind of tactics cannot work till end of the game against Argentina.”
Former England striker Robbie Fowler echoed those sentiments, placing the blame for the defeat squarely on the manager. Fowler, who made 26 appearances for England and scored seven international goals, said Tuchel's reputation would come under intense scrutiny.
“This defeat is on the manager and his tactics. Tomorrow he is going to be annihilated in the English press. He came to England with the reputation as a super coach. But as a super coach you have to do something more. With his tactics, he attracted too much attention on the backline,” Fowler said.
Asked to assess England's overall World Cup campaign after the semi-final exit, Fowler said: “Don’t think it’s a success. Minimum we should have got to the final. Otherwise what had changed (from the previous manager)? The defeat was completely England’s fault.”
Tuchel defended his decisions while speaking to the media after the match, explaining that England had altered their shape in response to Argentina's aerial threat.
“Argentina won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air,” Tuchel said.
He also acknowledged that the tactical switch had not delivered the desired outcome but accepted responsibility for the result.
“Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. So we tried to help. But of course the responsibility is on the coach. And … if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say that it was wrong,” Tuchel said.
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