ATLANTA -- Thomas Tuchel knew the criticism would come.
"The changes we made didn't help us. Devastated," was former England striker-turned pundit Wayne Rooney's assessment. Ex-defender Micah Richards said "tactically, we all thought he got it wrong today."
Just 10 days ago, the England boss was being hailed as a tactical genius for the manner in which his side held out against Mexico, playing with a back five, down to 10 men, repelling any and everything thrown at them to win their quarterfinal 3-2 at the Azteca. But in the semifinal, the same defensive switch coincided with Argentina finding another level to grab two late goals and win 2-1.
"There was blood in the water and we went for it," Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said afterwards.
Lionel Messi found more time on the ball out wide, the switch gave midfielder Enzo Fernández space to fire home the equalizer and, seven minutes later, Lautaro Martínez snuck into the gap in between two English defenders to nod home the winner from Messi's excellent cross. Tuchel's defensive switch backfired. That's the brutality of the FIFA World Cup.
"I believe that's just the nature of the game," Tuchel said. "As soon as you lose, you get criticized after. No one knows what would have happened, if I made different decisions, so it makes no sense to engage in that and lose my head. I'm responsible for them. I have to take the criticism that's just the way it is."
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Tuchel had put so much emphasis on the "brotherhood" spirit of this team. He's frequently talked about his admiration for how they find an inner-belief to fight, and drag themselves over the line. We saw it against Congo DR where it needed two late goals from Harry Kane to survive that scare. Against Mexico, England were reduced to 10 men in the 55th minute after Jarell Quansah was sent off. Kane scored soon after from the spot, and in the second hydration break, Tuchel switched to the back five. It worked. Against Norway, England needed two goals from Jude Bellingham magic to see them through. But there was a general feeling that we hadn't yet seen the best of England.
There's no doubt that fatigue, form and injuries have played a huge part in this tournament. England have had issues at right back ever since Reece James felt his hamstring tighten up in the latter stages of the Ghana match. The decision to replace the injured Tino Livramento with Trevoh Chalobah on the eve of the tournament saw Tuchel gamble on James making it through, and Ezri Konsa, Quansah and Djed Spence having enough about them to cover at right back if needs be. But then Quansah got injured against Panama and was suspended for his red card vs. Mexico, so they were looking for makeshift options ever since.
The same went for the wingers. Anthony Gordon's form went full circle this tournament, starting, then dropping away after Ghana, before exploding back in the closing stages of the Congo DR match just at the right time. But on the other flank, Tuchel starting Morgan Rogers on the right wing for the Argentina match showed how the Noni Madueke pick didn't work, and how Bukayo Saka just hasn't looked his normal world-beating self at this tournament.
There's plenty that Tuchel has got right. The call to bring in 6-foot-7 defender Dan Burn was inspired; Spence has more than justified his inclusion; Jordan Henderson has been key in maintaining squad morale, and providing support to captain Kane in camp, even if he broke his arm after celebrating against Mexico.
But the damning statistics from the Argentina match are hard to ignore. Tuchel was hired to deliver England their second World Cup star. It's the message he gave the players in his first team talk back in March 2025: it's time to end 60 years of hurt, and bring the trophy home. Except it isn't coming home, because England lost all control of the match in that final half an hour.
From the 55th minute when Gordon scored through to Argentina's winner in the 92nd minute, England had just 12% possession. They allowed Argentina 37 minutes with 88% possession -- a team who at that point had four forwards on the pitch, stretching England's defense and offering midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Fernández time on the edge of the box.
Argentina hit the woodwork twice either side of Fernández's goal; the second led to Martínez nodding home. England had warning after warning, but couldn't adjust.
By the time England scrambled with strikers Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford introduced in the 96th minute, they didn't have any foothold to build on, nothing to get themselves back into the match. And a few gasps later, Argentinian celebrations began.
Tuchel's substitutions were too negative. When England were winning 1-0, Tuchel brought on three defenders -- Konsa for Gordon, Nico O'Reilly for Declan Rice, and Burn for James. With the benefit of hindsight, critics said Tuchel should have used attacking replacements for those flagging legs to chase the second goal, rather than protect the slender 1-0 lead.
"We felt it," Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez said afterwards. "We felt them going backwards and backwards rather than going forward. Sometimes when you are winning, you have to go forward anyway. You can't change the gameplan. I think they did it and they put extra defenders."
Tuchel tried to explain the momentum shift afterwards.
"Argentina played with more risk and rhythm, and a feeling they had nothing to lose which freed them up and held us back as we had a feeling we had a lot to lose," he said. "We dropped into a deep block, but we struggled to stay active, and defend crosses in the deep block and get physical on the runners into the box. It was difficult for us, we couldn't win duels or find ball possession and they got momentum and won the game."
Fundamentally, if you're judging England by the standards they set ahead of the World Cup, they have fallen short. A soul-destroyed Bellingham said as much afterwards as he referred to how familiar a feeling this must be for England fans; Burn said he was "gutted" and the team were too "passive."
The part which is missing is the hardest part to capture. Argentina know what it takes to win a tournament, it almost becomes muscle memory, and they've shown in this competition that when their backs are against the wall, they can find a way back into the fight and win. Sure, in Messi they've got the best player the game has ever seen, but they also have the mentality and trust in one another that, regardless of the situation they find themselves in, they can find a solution.
Tuchel has been in the job 16 months. He's taken England to a World Cup semifinal, and that's no mean feat. But this familiar sense of doom and disappointment is far too common with the England men's team. This was why the FA turned to Tuchel: to bridge the gap between trophy contenders and silverware winners. Ultimately, that's what he's to be judged on, but again, England froze. They went into retreat. And they ended up heartbroken.
Tuchel will keep his job through to Euro 2028, the FA has already suggested as much. But over the next two years, Tuchel has to find a way to break this cycle. Whether he can achieve that is what his England tenure will be judged on.
Before the match, Tuchel said he felt no burden of the team's past near misses. But watching England crumble was far too familiar. Argentina's team smelt blood; England were the prey. Tuchel hasn't yet managed to solve England's neurosis when it comes to taking the elusive step to silverware, one which has evaded them for 60 long years.
