Thomas Tuchel accepted responsibility for England’s passivity after they took the lead, which allowed Argentina to pull off a stunning late comeback that dashed England’s World Cup hopes.
On the brink of reaching their first men’s World Cup final on foreign soil, England went ahead with a goal from Anthony Gordon early in the second half. However, Enzo Fernández equalized with a powerful strike, and Lautaro Martínez netted the winning goal in injury time, sending Argentina to face Spain in the final on Sunday.
At the final whistle, England’s players were visibly distraught, with captain Harry Kane leading the team to thank the traveling supporters and Jude Bellingham visibly emotional. In contrast, Lionel Messi celebrated jubilantly, dropping to his knees and raising his fists in joy as Argentina secured their spot in a second consecutive final.
Tuchel, who made the controversial decision to replace Declan Rice and Reece James just three minutes prior to Fernández’s equalizer, expressed his disappointment and acknowledged his role in the team’s defeat.
“We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open,” Tuchel explained. “Argentina played with more risk, played with more rhythm and played with the feeling maybe that they had nothing to lose any more, which freed them up and pulled us back. Because we obviously played suddenly with a feeling that we had a lot to lose. Of course the responsibility is on the coach and if it doesn’t go well it’s easy to say it was wrong.”
When asked if England’s habit of squandering leads was a mental issue, Tuchel responded, “I don’t believe so much in an English thing and a curse or whatever. It’s repeating itself in different moments. It’s different coaches, different players, different situations. “What cost us today was that we were not active enough in any structure. I can understand these discussions are out there and of course a million coaches after the game know it better. You can discuss this with a million coaches. I have to make a decision on the pitch. It’s how I analyse the match and I take the responsibility. “At the moment no regrets. The team gave everything and we were very very close. We deserved to be up 1-0. We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match under the circumstances. The team was top – we couldn’t bring it over the line.”
“Just gutted, gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone: the team, the staff, the fans,” he added. “We played well for the vast majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up we just seemed to try to hold on which, at this level, is not enough. After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us being able to match them man for man, it just was wave after wave and we were just trying to hold on, put the blocks in, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”
“Las Malvinas son Argentinas”
England’s possession plummeted to just 12% from the time Gordon scored until they conceded the decisive goal, leading Kane to remark that they were outplayed by Argentina.
“The Malvinas are Argentinian” he stated. “England pressed hard for about 60 minutes. After finding the goal, they dropped back, and that gave us more composure in circulating the ball and spreading the play..”
After the match, Bellingham was seen striking Argentina’s substitute Valentín Barco on the back of the head and had to be restrained by reserve goalkeepers Dean Henderson and James Trafford. No disciplinary action was taken against him by the officials.
Lisandro Martínez, the Manchester United defender, was spotted celebrating with a banner that read “This team plays best when they are facing adversity,” referencing the Falklands conflict.
Argentina had previously overcome a 2-0 deficit against Egypt in the last 16, and Lautaro Martínez reflected on the team’s resilience. “We had a challenging situation, there was blood in the water and we went for it. We had six or seven chances and the ball wouldn’t go in but the team fought until the end. After they scored, we really proved ourselves – it shows what football means to us and it goes beyond tactics.” he noted.
An emotional Lionel Scaloni praised his team’s determination. “This team plays best when they are facing adversity,” the Argentina head coach remarked. “We had a challenging situation, there was blood in the water and we went for it. We had six or seven chances and the ball wouldn’t go in but the team fought until the end. After they scored, we really proved ourselves – it shows what football means to us and it goes beyond tactics.”
