US President Donald Trump has become the latest person to take a dig at England manager Thomas Tuchel after the Three Lions lost their World Cup semi-final to Argentina on Thursday morning.
Trump’s previous involvement in this World Cup was to call FIFA president Gianni Infantino to encourage him to overturn USA striker Folarin Balogun’s red card and allow him to play in the co-host’s Round of 16 loss to Belgium.
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Trump was less interventionist this time around, simply sharing the view of many more prominent football voices that Tuchel went too defensive in Atlanta.
England captain Harry Kane admitted earlier in the tournament that he and Trump played golf together last year.
The US President recalled their apparent friendship when saying Kane had been misused by Tuchel.
“You have a great player in England, who I played golf with — you know that, right? Harry, who’s been fantastic. I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player,” he said during a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in New York on Friday.
“What do I know about soccer? They took the lead, and they took their best player and put him on defence.
“We have got to be a little offensive, right? But no I’m not going to call it. What do I know about coaching? It was unusual, but Harry is a great guy, actually.”
Trump’s comments came as Tuchel addressed the media on the eve of England’s third-place playoff game against France in Miami on Sunday morning.
The German doubled down on his post semi-finals comments that he had “no regrets”, but refuted allegations in the English press that he was avoiding taking responsibility for his side conceding goals in the 85th and 92nd minutes to cough up a chance to make the final for the first time since 1966.
“I have no regrets over my decisions. I felt we became too passive, I felt the momentum switches, I tried to help my team. I trusted my experience, instinct and competitiveness,” he said.
“I take personal responsibility for these decisions. The decisions are made under stress. Is it easier if someone takes the blame, I take the blame. If you need someone to blame, I am the head coach.”
WILDFIRES THREATEN FINAL
World Cup organisers said Friday they were “monitoring closely” the smoke gripping swathes of the United States ahead of the tournament’s Monday morning final in New Jersey which has been affected by dangerously unhealthy air.
“There’s been discussion about it, and we have somebody with the National Weather Service that sits in FIFA headquarters there, so we’re monitoring closely,” Andrew Giuliani, White House World Cup task force executive director, told a briefing.
Spanish star Mikel Merino said he can smell and see the smoke from the Canadian wildfires.
“For a game that is as important as a World Cup final, you have to be able to shut out external factors as much as possible,” Merino said.
“Luckily, we are being careful with every detail thanks to the federation and the organisers of the World Cup.”
The Weather Channel’s senior meteorologist Jonathan Belles expects to have improved confidence in the forecast as game time gets closer.
“The question is whether smoke behind that [rain] system reaches ground level over northern New Jersey on Sunday and, if so, how concentrated it becomes,” Mr Belles said.
“Current forecast models range from little to no ground-level smoke to levels that could become more concerning for players and fans.”
Air quality concern ahead of WC Final | 05:07
MESSI TO GET ‘SPECIAL ATTENTION’
Luis de la Fuente said Spain planned to pay “special attention” to Lionel Messi in Sunday’s World Cup final but ruled out trying to man-mark the Argentina captain.
De la Fuente told reporters at a press conference on Friday that he knows from experience the challenges of using man-to-man marking against the eight-time Ballon D’Or winner.
The Spain coach recalled an experience from when he was coaching Sevilla’s youth team while Messi was playing junior football for Barcelona, underlining how it was impossible to keep him quiet for the whole match.
“I first encountered him when I was coaching the Sevilla youth team,” he said. “We went to Barcelona, and I had heard great things about a kid named Messi.
“So we assigned a player to mark him man-to-man, but in the 70th minute, I substituted the marker because he was on a yellow card. The score was 0-0, and in the span of 15 minutes, Messi scored four goals against us.”
“So we won’t use man-to-man marking this time. We have to stay alert and pay special attention, certainly,” de la Fuente added.
Messi, 39, has produced a series of vintage performances for Argentina to carry them into Sunday’s final, which will almost certainly be the veteran’s last appearance in the World Cup.
“Messi is one of a kind,” de la Fuente said. “An example for young athletes in terms of his attitude and behaviour, especially given the spectacular World Cup he is playing at his age.” Sunday’s final will also be a personal duel between de la Fuente and has Argentina counterpart Lionel Scaloni, who formed a friendship in 2017 when de la Fuente was an instructor as Scaloni studied for his professional coaching licence.
De la Fuente strongly pushed back at suggestions that Argentina may resort to skulduggery or streetwise tactics in an attempt to disrupt Spain.
“Oh, please, no, no, no,” de la Fuente said. “I would never dare to say that. I have the utmost admiration for this national team.
“They’ve won the World Cup, two Copa Americas, the Finalissima… and they are led by a close friend of mine. I have nothing but admiration and more admiration for them.
“I believe that both Spain and Argentina will have a game plan where talent and good football will rule over everything else.”
De la Fuente said his team was prepared to adjust for the extended half-time interval for Sunday’s final. The break is expected to be nearly double the usual 15 minutes to accommodate a star-studded half-time show.
The Spain coach said he believed longer half-time breaks — and the hydration breaks introduced at this World Cup — could become football’s “normality” in coming years.
“I think that everything that we consider to be strange or odd nowadays, you know, hydration breaks, the 30-minute half-time, maybe within 30 years will become normality,” he said.
“Maybe football is developing that way. We don’t know. It is what it is. We can’t change that, so we’ll have to enjoy it.”
Wild scenes in Argentina for SF win | 01:13
‘HONESTLY SOMETIMES I CRY’
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said Friday that thinking about his team’s success in recent years sometimes brings him to tears as they attempt to retain the World Cup trophy in the final against Spain.
“I am focused only on winning. The whole team has improved so much and this is something we have spent years building,” Aston Villa’s Martinez told reporters in New York City ahead of Sunday’s final at the MetLife Stadium.
Argentina won the World Cup in 2022 by beating France on penalties in the final. They also won the Copa America in 2021 and 2024 and beat Italy in the 2022 Finalissima, a fixture between the South American and European champions.
“Honestly sometimes I cry to myself thinking about what we have achieved. I am just trying to enjoy the moment. Because sometimes as footballers you don’t really realise where you are in your career,” Martinez said.
“My message to my teammates is that they should enjoy this moment, prepare with a smile on our faces. This is something we will remember forever.”
The 33-year-old will always be remembered in Argentina for his starring role in the 2022 campaign, including a stunning save deep in extra time to stop Randal Kolo Muani winning the final for France.
Argentina had been 2-0 up in that game in Doha before two late Kylian Mbappe goals forced extra time. A Lionel Messi penalty then looked to have won it for Argentina, only for Mbappe to complete his hat-trick from the spot and force a shootout.
“In the last final we were far superior to France for 80 minutes up until their penalty, but in the end we conceded three goals and usually when you let in three goals in a final you are more likely to lose,” Martinez said.
“I just had to make that save right at the end. Sometimes it comes off you and goes in. Against Jordan (in this year’s group stage) it hit me and went in. The other day it went through my legs. Thankfully in the final it didn’t.” Martinez admitted he was enjoying this World Cup campaign much more than in 2022, despite coming into the tournament injured after suffering a fractured finger playing for Aston Villa in the Europa League final in May.
“I think I am playing better with my feet, my decision-making is much better, and I am eternally grateful to be playing in my fifth final with this team.” Argentina will become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the World Cup trophy if they beat Spain at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
“The players in the team come from working-class backgrounds,” Martinez said. “Our parents have to work hard, and I think the Argentine people will remember us as hard workers, who never admit defeat — even if sometimes things are hard we always come through, like in this World Cup,” he said when asked about what legacy the team might leave behind.