Tuchel's defensive tactics questioned after England's World Cup exit

England were on the cusp of reaching their first men's World Cup final since 1966. They led 1-0 against reigning world champions Argentina when the clock inside Atlanta Stadium ticked to 84 minutes—and then it all went wrong. Enzo Fernandez equalized with a thumping strike in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martinez headed a 92nd-minute winner, both goals assisted by Lionel Messi. England's World Cup dreams lay in ruins.

Anthony Gordon had put England ahead in the 55th minute, but the team then sat back and paid the price. Manager Thomas Tuchel's decision to adopt a defensive approach backfired spectacularly. Instead, Argentina advanced to Sunday's final against Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium (20:00 BST).

Defensive changes under fire

After taking the lead, England had only 12% possession until Argentina's second goal. Tuchel introduced defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, and Nico O'Reilly while forwards Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney were only sent on deep into stoppage time. The substitutions drew sharp criticism from former players and pundits.

“We have crumbled,” former England captain Wayne Rooney told BBC Sport. “It started from the manager and the decisions he made. It was too passive. Against this team, the world champions, you will not get away with it. This has been the biggest test and we have failed it.”

‘Coaching catastrophe’ – Sutton

England had shown character earlier in the tournament, coming from behind to defeat DR Congo in the last 32 and Norway in the quarter-finals. But former England captain Alan Shearer noted the difference in opposition quality. “The difference is hanging on against Norway or Mexico. They have not got the quality this Argentina team have in terms of the ability on the ball and the ability they have to punish you,” Shearer told BBC Sport. “Tuchel played his cards very, very early and it has backfired.”

Chris Sutton, a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1994-95, called it a “coaching catastrophe” on BBC Radio 5 Live. “You can't expect to defend for 30 minutes against the quality Argentina had. It's all on the coach. He made the changes. He was negative, so the question is how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to take this team forward?”

History repeats itself

England have come undone against Argentina before, including Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup and the 1998 World Cup defeat. But former England goalkeeper Joe Hart said the team had only themselves to blame. “Norway and Mexico panicked against England. I didn't see one bit of panic from that Argentina side. I saw belief, I saw them realising they could free up the great man Lionel Messi in the pocket, and they were running all over England,” Hart told BBC Sport. “Gareth Southgate took a lot of criticism for the big moments with England, when they had the lead in big games and shut up shop. I don't see that anything has changed in that big moment out there.”

With England leading 1-0, many expected Tuchel to go for another goal. Instead, he made three defensive changes: Konsa replaced Gordon in the 72nd minute, switching to a back five, and Burn and O'Reilly came on 10 minutes later. Rashford and Toney were introduced but too late to alter the outcome.