England manager Thomas Tuchel said he has “no regrets” after his team were beaten 2-1 by defending champions Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals on Thursday morning.
Anthony Gordon’s strike had put the Three Lions on the cusp of a first men’s World Cup final since they lifted the 1966 trophy but Lionel Messi inspired a dramatic turnaround in Atlanta.
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He set up Enzo Fernandez, who blasted home from outside the area in the 85th minute, and provided an inch-perfect cross for Lautaro Martinez’s winner in stoppage time.
Tuchel was blasted by pundits post-game for being too defensive in the final half an hour with his side clinging onto a 1-0 lead.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney led the chorus of outraged past players by telling the BBC: “We have to be honest. The decisions that Tuchel has made cost us tonight.”
One of those big decisions was reverting a back five as he did against Mexico and Norway in the latter stages of England’s previous two matches in the knockout rounds.
This time around it only invited more pressure from the Argentines and the dam wall eventually burst.
Tuchel admitted that his side went into their shells for most of the second half.
“We were so close, but we got too passive after we scored. We were close but couldn’t keep the level up after we scored,” he told the BBC.
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez offered a damning admission in his interview with the BBC saying his side felt their opponents taking a backwards step.
“We felt it. We felt them going backwards and backwards rather than going forward,” the Aston Villa shot stopper said.
“Sometimes when you are winning, you have to go forward anyway. You can’t change the game plan. I think they did it and they put extra defenders.”
But despite the brutal assessments, Tuchel was comfortable with his tactics.
“At the moment, no regrets,” the German said.
“The team gave everything, and we were very, very close. I think we deserved to be up 1-0. We played one of our better matches, maybe the best match in the circumstances.
“The team was top; we couldn’t bring it over the line. At the moment, no regrets.”
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Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane said he was “gutted” for England and their fans.
“Gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone — the team, the staff, the fans,” he told the BBC.
“We played a good game, the large majority of it. When we went 1-0 up we seemed to try and hold on, which at this level is not enough.
“So, just gutted because we’ve worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, blood, sweat, tears.”
Bayern Munich forward Kane, who scored six goals during the tournament, said Tuchel’s men had struggled to repel constant attacks from the defending champions.
“After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us not being able to match them man for man, it was just wave after wave,” he said.
“Lads were putting blocks in but, in the end, it just wasn’t enough.”
He said England had not planned to rely on defending after Gordon’s goal.
“When we went ahead the messaging was to go again and get another goal,” he added.
“Then once they scored their two goals it was to try and find something but we couldn’t quite get the momentum back in the game.”
Once Argentina equalised, it was going to be near-impossible for England to harness any attacking momentum with the likes of towering centre back Dan Burn on the pitch.
The Newcastle giant was also brought off the bench against Mexico and Norway to combat crosses late in the game.
But after falling behind in stoppage time, Tuchel had to roll the dice by bringing on Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney in place of defenders John Stones and Djed Spence in search of an equaliser.
It was a necessary backflip but Tuchel backed the original defensive ploy.
“We decided to go to a back five because there were too many gaps and they were far too open. We did it to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air,” he said.
“Straight after the goal, with no substitution, we just conceded too many chances. We tried to help. But of course the responsibility is on the coach.”
Former England manager Gareth Southgate was regularly criticised for being too defensive in crunch moments in major tournaments.
The semi-final collapse drew parallels to the Southgate era with former England forward Paul Merson telling Sky Sports News that “Tuchel has come in and done the same as Gareth”.
Such observations led to questions of how big of an imprint Tuchel has actually had on this England squad with the suggestion that they reverted to their old ways under pressure.
As a result, the manager was if we saw Thomas Tuchel’s England during this World Cup.
“I don’t know. I have no answer to that question because I don’t really know what that means,” he replied.
“I don’t know. I think we saw the mentality throughout the match and the strong group. We played the matches how they were. We played against strong teams in the group.
“We had a lot of miles, a lot of travelling. We played in altitude, we played with ten men, we played in the heat. We overcame every obstacle.
“We were very, very close today. It’s not the moment now to analyse the full tournament. We just went out because we lost a crucial match.”
While Kane was also left unsure of what the “missing piece” was for England.
“We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games. Another semi-final. We talk about knocking on the door,” he said.
“We’re close. We just need to find, yeah, that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.
“You know, these tournaments take it out of you so much effort and pressure and mentality – and we’ve shown a lot of that throughout the whole six or seven weeks we’ve been together.
“We’re just missing that final piece.”
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Tuchel might not be there to find that missing piece at the next major tournament.
The former Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSG boss took over as England manager last year on an initial deal that took him through to the end of this World Cup.
But he recently signed a two-year extension taking him through to the 2028 Euros, which England will co-host with the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Tuchel can be sacked by the FA before then if a final four finish is deemed unsatisfactory, however, with chief executive Mark Bullingham confirming recently that the manager’s deal contains performance clauses.
“There’s performance clauses in every single contract at the FA, but I’m not going into any detail of what they are,” Bullingham told reporters earlier in the tournament.
As for whether there is a break clause which Tuchel can activate, he added: “We can hold him to the contract.”
That will not need to be the case, however, as Tuchel revealed he wants to stay on.
“We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
On the flip side, Argentina certainly do not lack that magic touch as Messi inspired another escape act to reach a second straight World Cup final.
“Well, I’m lost for words. A great happiness for our country and our people. And another great happiness for this group who never stop surprising me and never know when they are beaten,” Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni said.
“I can tell them that we are going to try to win, we’re going to leave it all out there, but the truth is that to do this is very difficult. It’s very difficult for people to understand what our players have given. It is so impressive.
“We are unique. It’s not arrogance, it is all heart. Today so many people arrived here to support us and for that I am truly grateful – they helped us to victory. This shirt merits us giving absolutely everything possible until the very end. To not spare anything at all.”