The dream of reaching a first World Cup final since 1966 for England ended in heartbreaking fashion against Argentina.
Anthony Gordon gave the Three Lions the lead midway through the second half in Atlanta. At that stage, England appeared to have one foot in the final against Spain.
However, the game changed dramatically following a series of tactical decisions from Thomas Tuchel.
The England manager replaced goalscorer Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa shortly after taking the lead. Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly were also introduced as Tuchel looked to protect the advantage.
Argentina eventually punished England’s retreating approach through goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez. The dramatic turnaround ended England’s tournament at the semi-final stage.
According to The Telegraph, some England players were left surprised by Tuchel’s tactical approach. There was reportedly a feeling within the squad that Argentina were vulnerable after falling behind.
Several players believed England could have caused more damage on the counter-attack. Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and Noni Madueke all remained on the bench despite England leading.
Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney were only introduced after Argentina had already completed the comeback.
The report also claims some players questioned the decision to replace Declan Rice with another defender. Enzo Fernandez scored from an area normally occupied by Rice or another midfielder.
Lautaro Martinez then headed home the winner despite England having six defenders on the pitch. Marc Guehi later admitted the team became too passive after opening the scoring. He said:
“Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is just not enough. We should have carried on pushing. It kind of felt like we scored and then the mentality was go back, defend.”
Despite the criticism, Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham continues to support the England manager.
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