<\/p>\n
If the English press and past players were filthy yesterday following England\u2019s World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina, they are livid today after Thomas Tuchel\u2019s most recent explanation for his side\u2019s shortcomings.<\/p>\n
The German manager claimed a weakness in English football\u2019s \u201cDNA\u201d<\/a> may have been to blame for his team blowing a 1-0 lead in Atlanta<\/a> with Argentina scoring 85th and 92nd minute goals to advance to Monday morning\u2019s final.<\/p>\n \ufeffTszyu v Spence Jr. | Sunday July 26 from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu takes on the biggest name in his career so far – future hall-of-famer Errol Spence Jr, in a can\u2019t miss event for boxing fans around the world. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cI think ball possession plays a crucial role; it\u2019s maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball,\u201d Tuchel said.<\/p>\n The comment has stirred up the mob, who already had their pitch forks ready.<\/p>\n Tuchel\u2019s defensive tactics after Anthony Gordon scored the opening goal in the 55th minute has already sparked outrage with the likes of Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney saying \u201cwe have to be honest. The decisions that Tuchel has made cost us tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n The former Bayern Munich, Chelsea and PSG manager insists that his message to England\u2019s substitutes before they came on was to \u201cplay higher\u201d despite his side having all 11 players behind the ball at times in the second half.<\/p>\n While The Telegraph<\/a> reported that Tuchel will lay blame on playing at altitude in Mexico City and in scorching heat Miami in their previous two matches against Mexico and Norway for cooking his players and they sat deep out as a result of exhaustion.<\/p>\n But his most recent comments have been seen as a deflection.<\/p>\n French football journalist Julien Laurens told BBC 5 Live Sport that those who have followed his managerial club across some of Europe\u2019s top clubs will know that is nothing new.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is Thomas Tuchel for you. It is never his fault,\u201d Laurens said.<\/p>\n And the lack of accountability does not sit well with English fans as a \u201ctoxic\u201d environment now surrounds the Three Lions.<\/p>\n Even one of their most ardent supporters, co-writer of the song \u2018It\u2019s Coming Home\u2019 David Baddiel, took to social media to blast Tuchel saying his \u201cDNA\u201d comment \u201csimply isn\u2019t true\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has been England manager for more than a year and a half and, unfortunately, has had a reverse alchemy at this World Cup \u2013 turning believers into doubters. Many, many angry doubters. It is toxic,\u201d The Telegraph\u2019s<\/a> chief football correspondent Jason Burt wrote of Tuchel.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n \ufeffBombshell dressing room reveal after WC blunder as England coach blames \u2018weak DNA\u2019<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \ufeffPoms\u2019 act of \u2018cowardice\u2019 exposed a pre-World Cup lie… proving \u2018nothing has changed\u2019<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \ufeffMessi sat on the brink of a lifelong torture. Argentina had to haunt him before it could glorify him<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Despite the negativity, Tuchel recently signed an extension on his \u00a35 million to \u00a36 million annual deal with the FA through to the 2028 Euros, which will be played in Great Britain and Ireland.<\/p>\n FA bosses have said they want the German to stay on and following the defeat to Argentina, Tuchel said he wants to see out his deal.<\/p>\n His contract includes a performance clause but the response from both parties indicates that a semi-final run was deemed satisfactory.<\/p>\n With England given one of the top four seeds by FIFA, meaning they could not play any of Argentina, Spain or France until the semi-finals, anything less may have forced their hand.<\/p>\n England did not face a nation ranked in the FIFA\u2019s top ten before Argentina, and Burt noted that an earlier exit would have surely spelled curtains for Tuchel.<\/p>\n \u201cBut remember England were 15 minutes from going out of this World Cup in the last 32 to the might of the DR Congo. If they had done so, Tuchel would have had to go,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n Tuchel staying on will require a serious repair job, however.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now it looks like Tuchel\u2019s relationship with England is broken. The question is whether he has the ability and, crucially, the humility to rebuild it,\u201d Burt added.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was supposed to be an elite manager who was hired, at great expense, to get England over the line. Instead he has undeniably taken them backwards. The final quarter of the exit to Argentina was as bad as it gets.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the 37 minutes between Anthony Gordon\u2019s goal and Lautaro Martinez\u2019s winner, England had 12 per cent possession. In the 18 minutes before Enzo Fernandez\u2019s equaliser, England completed three passes to Argentina\u2019s 122.<\/p>\n \u201cThey conceded in the 85th minute and broke the record for the latest a team had led in a World Cup semi-final and lost without the game going to extra time.\u201d<\/p>\n Just about every think piece on England\u2019s semi-final demise has recalled Tuchel\u2019s comments when he was appointed Three Lions boss last year.<\/p>\n Asked for his assessment on England\u2019s loss to Spain in the final of the 2024 Euros under previous manager Gareth Southgate, Tuchel replied: \u201cThey were more afraid to drop out of the tournament in my observation than having the excitement and hunger to win it.\u201d<\/p>\n Wild scenes in Argentina for SF win | 01:13<\/p>\n Understandably, Tuchel has been accused of hypocrisy.<\/p>\n His attempt to park the bus for more than half an hour to cling on to a one-goal lead as England did with ten men against Mexico ultimately backfired.<\/p>\n The decisions to replace goal scorer Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa, to bring on Dan Burn to flood the box with four centre backs, to take off midfielder Declan Rice for another defender in Nico O\u2019Reilly and to not inject attackers Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney until they had three minutes of stoppage time left to snatch an equaliser have all been widely ridiculed.<\/p>\n But Tuchel\u2019s \u201cDNA\u201d comments have also shined the spotlight on talented players who could have given them greater ball control.<\/p>\n Manchester United\u2019s Kobbie Mainoo was left on the bench.<\/p>\n So too were Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke.<\/p>\n While fellow Premier League stars Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, who possess creativity and flair with the ball, were left at home.<\/p>\n So too was former Liverpool, now Real Madrid right back Trent Alexander-Arnold.<\/p>\n \u201cTuchel restricted his options. The aim was to have wingers going down the outside and creating overloads,\u201d The Guardian\u2019s<\/a> Jacob Steinberg explained.<\/p>\n \u201cTuchel did not want Palmer and Foden cutting in and clogging up the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018Introverted and shy\u2019: The crazy Messi backstory behind absurdly unlikely viral WC image<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018No regrets\u2019: England boss doubles down as huge contract call awaits after World Cup collapse<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018Sack him now!\u2019: England coach torched over baffling WC fail as red card furore erupts<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n As a result, the overwhelming consensus is that Tuchel made the rod for his own back.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can complain about England lacking control when they led against Argentina but he left out players who are comfortable on the ball,\u201d Steinberg wrote. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a conscious choice from Tuchel and what makes it worse is that he did not even stick to his plan.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTuchel ended up with a squad containing six centre-backs but only one left-footed left-back (Nico O\u2019Reilly) and four central midfielders. He tied his own hands, not least when it came to reacting to Declan Rice\u2019s neural pain in a hamstring and his lower back,\u201d Steinberg added.<\/p>\n \u201cRice is crucial to how England play. Their structure disappears without him in midfield. Yet Tuchel knew his vice-captain was struggling to complete games. There had to be a viable alternative but the cover for Rice and Elliot Anderson was Jordan Henderson and Kobbie Mainoo.<\/p>\n \u201cThose were mind-bending choices.\u201d<\/p>\n Henderson brought veteran experience to the squad but the 36-year-old made one brief appearance off the bench in the final group game against Panama before breaking his arm, falling off an advertising board during the celebrations in Mexico City.<\/p>\n Henderson hospitalised with wrist injury | 00:55<\/p>\n While Mainoo did not get on the pitch all the tournament as reports emerged that Tuchel had planned to use him as back-up to Rice as the Arsenal star battled his fitness issues, but the manager was unimpressed with what he saw from the 21-year-old in training.<\/p>\n Still, Tuchel insisted after the Argentina loss that he had \u201cno regrets\u201d despite promising to instil an attacking, exciting brand of football and retreating at crucial moments.<\/p>\n \u201cThe patches in which they played well were painfully sparse, with the highlight probably that 25-minute spell after half-time in the opening game against Croatia and the backs-against-the-wall bravery in Mexico,\u201d Burt wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rest of it? It was distinctly and undeniably underwhelming. And Tuchel, despite his absurd declaration that he has \u201cno regrets\u201d, knows it. He spoke so much about identity, but admits he failed to give England one, beyond trying to play like a Premier League side. Which, frankly, will never work in international football. Not when you face the big teams.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s<\/a> Barney Ronay shared similar sentiments.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t make a culture. There is no real English way of playing,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is a Premier League way, kind of. But what is that? The league is an international talent clearing house, rootless, acquisitive, cannibalistic, where very few of the key players in the best teams are home products.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, the calls have grown louder for Tuchel to be sacked.<\/p>\n The Sun<\/a> has led the charge on pushing for former Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to be headhunted for the position.<\/p>\n The tabloid dug up comments from three years ago about the Catalan\u2019s future prospects to mount their case.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to train a national team for a World Cup or a European Championship or a Copa America,\u201d Guardiola said in 2023 a few months after winning the treble with City.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if that would be in five, ten or 15 years\u2019 time. I would like that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n There are still several people within English football circles that believe the latest failure does not solely fall on the manager\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n And that the England boss should not always have a saviour complex.<\/p>\n The Three Lions have still not made a World Cup final since their triumph at Wembley in 1966.<\/p>\n Atlanta 2026 joins Moscow 2018 and Turin 1990 as World Cup semi-final losses in the past 60 years.<\/p>\n In recent times there have also been defeats to Spain and Italy in the past two editions of the Euros.<\/p>\n A major trophy continues to desert England regardless of who is in charge.<\/p>\n Harry Kane touched on the notion by speaking of \u201ca missing piece\u201d post-game on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you ever hear the one about the man who likes to complain that every one of his ex wives have had the same failing, they just don\u2019t get him, and that goes for all 17 of them?\u201d Ronay pondered.<\/p>\n Former England fullback Gary Neville believes the players need to stand up and take more responsibility, and hinted that part of the sting of Tuchel\u2019s \u201cDNA\u201d comment is that there might be some truth to it.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are patterns that have emerged time and time again. All of us who have played for England are guilty of it, so the idea of me lumping in on Tuchel just isn\u2019t going to happen,\u201d Neville told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just as big a part of the problem as the lads who played last night that sunk deep into our own box. It\u2019s something in our psyche, something we\u2019ve done that puts pressure on ourselves and we\u2019ve been knocked out of tournaments so many times in this way. It\u2019s not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Such a measured response goes against the tide in a nation that famously rides the rollercoaster of victory and defeat.<\/p>\n There is also no doubt that it is easier to blame a German for their most recent shortcoming than to look internally for the causes at more of than a half century of failures.<\/p>\n Especially when the FA had made it clear that outside influence was what was needed to finally breakthrough.<\/p>\n When Tuchel was appointed, many were quick to point out that no foreign manager has ever won a World Cup.<\/p>\n It is a remarkable statistic that will continue when either Argentina\u2019s Lionel Scaloni or Spain\u2019s Luis de la Fuente lifts the trophy in New Jersey in three days time.<\/p>\n Air quality concern ahead of WC Final | 05:07<\/p>\n Those in English football who are willing to look internally, however, believe that there was no need to revert from keeping the faith in a homegrown manager.<\/p>\n \u201cThomas Tuchel was supposed to be the man who would turn water into wine. That was what the Football Association told us,\u201d The Daily Mail\u2019s<\/a> chief sports writer Oliver Holt wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the rationale for turning its back on the work that Gareth Southgate had done with the England team and paying big money for a quick-fix super-coach who would win the World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Southgate left after the 2024 European Championship, the FA chose not to build on what he achieved. They did not have the courage to do what the Spanish Football Federation did when they promoted Luis de la Fuente, a successful coach of its youth teams, to the senior job when Luis Enrique left after the 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cLee Carsley had won the European Under-21 Championship with England \u2013 and won it again last year \u2013 but was deemed not good enough by the FA, who abandoned their principles of a coaching pathway for English talent by appointing a foreign manager.\u201d<\/p>\n Carsley may be in the spotlight sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n As Holt points out, the fun for those who delight in England\u2019s downfall may only be just beginning.<\/p>\n There has already been a much publicised rift between Tuchel and star attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham, who Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes the team should be built around going forward.<\/p>\n While The Telegraph<\/a> reported that disillusion has grown within the squad as the players were left baffled by Tuchel\u2019s tactics against Argentina.<\/p>\n England defender Marc Guehi admitted as much in a post-match interview with the BBC when he said they should have \u201ckept pushing\u201d.<\/p>\n Perhaps following Argentina\u2019s lead would sit better with the players going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve got a player with that capability, and I\u2019m not saying that Jude Bellingham is Messi by any stretch of the imagination, but I\u2019m saying Jude Bellingham has something,\u201d Wright said on the Bill Simmons Podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got some star quality. He\u2019s got the ability to have moments in games, depending on how he is serviced. If we can get the ball wide, because it was Jude that made the run forward for the ball to go forward, for the ball to come across into Morgan (Rogers), or just to cross it into Anthony Gordon to score, it was Jude, absolutely we should be looking to say, listen, this is the main guy, and we want the main guy up there.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to get him the ball as often as we can. We want to get the ball into him as often as we can. And we should start, we should start maybe playing through Jude, playing towards Jude.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything should be, you know, like how Messi\u2019s played, everything\u2019s service Jude, so then he can then service everybody. Because we\u2019ve seen in the games, and we\u2019re not saying that they\u2019re being unbelievable games and unbelievable opposition, but we\u2019ve seen in those games that he is capable against anybody of grabbing a game by the scruff of his neck and running with it, just like Messi did.\u201d<\/p>\n That may be a job for a new manager whenever they arrive, however, as the parallels are lining up between Tuchel\u2019s club history and his current gig.<\/p>\n His most recent job was at Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n