Coaching catastrophe catalyst for agony here in Atlanta: Tuchel’s timidity costs England as Argentina KO Three Lions to reach World Cup final
Passive England crumble after Tuchel’s negativity fails Three Lions here in Atlanta just when they need a top leader and tactician
Coaching catastrophe catalyst for agony in Atlanta: Tuchel’s timidity costs England as Argentina KO Three Lions to reach World Cup final
Passive England crumble after Tuchel’s negativity fails Three Lions here in Atlanta just when they need a top leader and tactician
Tuchel out? CREDIT: Smartframe on licence
As the final whistle blew in Atlanta, from my press box vantage point high up in the stands, I could see a number of England players drop to the grass to lie desolate on the turf after having given so much on a tumultuous Georgia afternoon, and throughout this entire tournament.
England hopes lay in ruins after being denied the chance to reach only their second World Cup in their history after Tuchel’s coaching catastrophe.
Football can be a cruel game at times, and despite being 1-0 up with a mere five minutes remaining, Tuchel’s side simply couldn’t get over the line here in America, leaving many rightly to question the negative impact his late substitutions had on his team.
With England leading 1-0- through Anthony Gordon’s 55th minute opener, the German introduced three defenders from the 72nd minute onwards, Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly, in wretchedly passive tactics that invited severe Argentine pressure by essentially playing six at the back as the clock ticked down. From netting to conceding Enzo Fernandes 85th minute equaliser, prior to Lautaro Martinez’s 92nd minute winner, Tuchel’s side had a miserable 12 per cent possession. Once the Chelsea midfielder’s equaliser went in, England had no answer thanks to the fact they had ceded momentum, allowing Martinez’s decisive effort to be as inevitable as it was crushing.
Of course, the greatest player that ever lived, Lionel Messi, played his part. Despite playing at walking pace, the now 39-year-old contributed two assists to reach his third World Cup final.
I once saw Messi score four goals against Arsenal in the Nou Camp but these days it’s clear he wasn’t the player he was - how could he be - yet he was still Argentina’s leader, lynchpin, focal point, and beating heart.
The fact remains Tuchel was brought in to ensure England took the next step by bringing his big game experience and tactical nous to the Three Lions. But if his in-game decision-making amounted to such a debilitatingly negative mindset that cost England a place in the World Cup final then why is he there?
It was a bitterly, bitterly disappointing way to go out of the World Cup here in Atlanta.
You’d much rather die on your feet fighting than being reduced to such wretched timidity through your manager’s cowardly decisions.
The whole point of Tuchel was his in-game management.
But it turned out when we needed top level expertise all we got was shamefully weak tactics.
To be brutal it was sackable late tactics from Tuchel.
If we wanted someone who failed to react in a way that would see England over the line during massive games we should have kept Gareth Southgate.
Tuchel’s late timidity alas emphatically and decisively handed the advantage to Argentina, and blew our chances of England reaching only their second ever World Cup final.
The Greatest of all time. CREDIT: Smartframe on licence
My on the whistle match report from Atlanta
Argentina stage late comeback for the ages to knock out England as timid Tuchel’s substitutions see Three Lions falter on dramatic Atlanta afternoon
Despite England leading with only four minutes remaining Argentina refused to be beaten – while questions must be asked of timid Tuchel’s late substitutions
In the city where Martin Luther King was born, England’s dreams of World Cup glory were left shattered after Argentina staged an incredible comeback for the ages.
In front of 68,239 passionate supporters from both countries here in the deep south of America, reigning holders Lionel Messi’s Argentina showed outstanding reserves of grit, character and fight to ensure a thrilling comeback that will be spoken about as long as the sport of football is played. Even if questions must be asked of timid Thomas Tuchel’s late substitutions that cost England crucial momentum, and ultimately the game.
Quite simply Lionel Scaloni’s side refused to give in - prompted by the ageless Messi’s two late assists - despite being 1-0 down with only four minutes remaining in this southern cauldron, and now face Spain in the final in New Jersey on Sunday.
Following a compelling but cagey opening 45 minutes, Tuchel’s Three Lions went ahead ten minutes after the interval, when Anthony Gordon slotted home Morgan Rogers’ cross past the despairing Emi Martinez.
With dreams of impending glory starting to fill the minds of those who have endured 60 years of hurt, Tuchel, previously bold Tuchel, made the decision to consolidate what he and his team had gathered, when making a succession of defensive substitutions after the second half hydration break.
Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly were introduced from the 72nd minute onwards in wretchedly passive tactics that invited severe Argentine pressure by essentially playing six at the back as the clock ticked down.
The curious negativity, given the German’s previously bold decisions surely had every England fan in the stadium, let alone those watching back home, and all around the globe, questioning why ceding momentum, space and an attacking threat was the correct tactic to plump for, and at such a vital stage of the match.
Tuchel’s timidity was as perverse as it was uncalled for, as the German and Argentina took advantage.
As the clock ticked down, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandes - teed up by Messi of course - fired across Jordan Pickford and into the far corner of net with only 240 seconds of normal time remaining, to cue pandemonium.
While the thought occurred that amid the utter frenzy generated by the team’s delirious fans behind the goal, and all around this superb stadium, the wavering Three Lions had to keep calm and hold on in a bid to regroup for extra time, Tuchels’ team, now denuded of any genuine attacking threat in the maelstrom of the moment, as his replacements struggled to make an impact on the game, were there for the taking.
Which is what happened when Lautaro Martinez popped up to score a 92nd minute winner, sending the hordes behind the goal into raptures, safe in the knowledge they had finally broken Tuchel’s England.
However, speaking after the match, when asked if he had made the wrong decisions, Tuchel said he had ‘no regrets’, with his tactics a reaction to England becoming ‘too passive’.
“We decided to go to a back five to close the gaps,” Tuchel insisted.
“Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances, so we tried to help.
“The responsibility is on the coach. When it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say it was wrong.
“We were very close today. It’s not the moment to analyse the full tournament.”
Earlier, Tuchel made three changes for the crunch clash in America’s Deep South with Morgan Rogers and Reece James included in his starting XI in a bid to bolster England’s troublesome right flank.
It was no wonder when facing the greatest player of all time in Messi, for, even if the 39-year-old is reduced to walking pace these days, the gilded former Barcelona attacker has still managed a tournament best eight goals so far this memorable summer.
"He's the best player in history, I don't know what else he would have to do to prove that. The majority of Spaniards love him," said his national team boss Scaloni afterwards.
Scaloni only made a single change from the Albiceleste’s 3-1 quarter-final victory over Switzerland, with Guiliano Simeone – son of the still legendary Diego Simeone – drafted in to replace Rodrigo de Paul.
For all the noise generated regarding Jude Bellingham’s reaction to Tuchel’s demands for more from his team in terms of performance after the Three Lions last-eight triumph over Norway, the mood in the camp had been excellent as the moment of destiny approached.
Despite Argentina clearly trying to provoke Bellingham and Rogers into losing their composure in the opening stages, with Leandro Paredes the catalyst, not to mention Fernandes and Elliot Anderson engaging in their own wrestling match, England had the better of the first 20 minutes, with James notable for dovetailing well along the right flank, even testing Emi Martinez with a cross cum shot before the end of the first quarter, sorry, hydration break.
With Bellingham brought down along the left flank, Arsenal’s Declan Rice took a free-kick that saw John Stones head narrowly wide when well-placed. The thought arising that a significant but much derided tool the champions of England employed to deliver silverware last term was now an important component of Tuchel’s team’s armoury.
A vital part of Argentina’s art was provoking a reaction, which was underlined when Anderson brought down Messi with ten minutes remaining of a feisty first 45 minutes. While American referee Ismail Elfath correctly awarded a yellow card for the cynical foul, it was instructive to note that a number of the South Americans desperately wanted to continue the argument.
It was also instructive to note by that stage of the game, Simeone junior had committed five fouls and was yet to be cautioned, while Anderson went into the book for only his second misdemeanour.
With the relentlessly febrile atmosphere ringing out under the dome here in Atlanta’s space age stadium, Fernandez unleashed a long-range effort that flew narrowly by.
Amid the noise and the rancour, moments later, the combative Lisandro Martinez went into the book for holding Rogers’ shirt.
Moments after the restart Pickford saved from Julian Alvarez, before the Atletico Madrid striker fired over as Argentina made a lively start to the second half.
Shortly afterwards Spurs Romero was rightly booked for a shocking foul on Bellingham, thus adding to the sense of jeopardy.
In such a gripping contest, something eventually had to give. And it did. Rogers finding space down the flank crossed into the box, finding Gordon, as the 24-year-old calmly slotted the ball past a despairing Martinez to put England 1-0 up in the 55th minute, sparking absolute bedlam among the team, substitutes and the 30,000+ travelling fans behind the goal and everywhere else in the stadium.
Moments later, with the cheers barely subsided, another full-throated roar went up when Djed Spence threw himself into what will surely be the tackle of the tournament, to deny Diego Simeone’s son. The defender’s fierce reaction prompting an adrenaline inducing roar from the crowd, as the former Nottingham Forest defender pumped his fist as vigorously as if he had just scored a goal, such was England’s fierce determination to finally end 60 years of hurt.
With Pickford saving well from Gonzalez’s header, it was debatable whether the hydration break came at a good time for England, or Argentina, with Scaloni’s men having to regroup after conceding, yet, still incredibly dangerous in attack.
With Tuchel swapping goalscorer Gordon for Konsa, it was clear the German boss had opted on a boldly negative option in a bid to bolster his backline in keeping Argentina out.
That was before Liverpool’s Mac Allister headed onto the post, prior to another chance fizzing past the Everton keeper’s far post as England struggled to hold on.
As Tuchel retreated even more by bringing on Burn, as the backline subsided ever deeper, unravelling England simply couldn’t repel Argentina, as Fernandez, Martinez, and double provider Messi, ensured more broken dreams for the valiant Three Lions, as sixty years of hurt was extended depressingly - and frustratingly - still further.
Lionel Messi helped Argentina to the World Cup final despite Anthony Gordon’s opener for England which made us dream. Before Tuchel’s disastrous negavity. CREDIT: Smartframe on licence
England 1-2 Argentina Player Ratings
Argentina stage dramatic late comeback to beat England and reach World Cup final
The reigning World Cup holders stunned Thomas Tuchel’s side with a thrilling comeback for the ages, to net twice in seven minutes to post a 2-1 victory after being 1-0 down with four minutes remaining as Enzo Fernandez’s leveller and Lautaro Martinez’s 92nd minute winner sets up a mouthwatering final against Spain this weekend
Find out who impressed with our Player Ratings on a desperately disappointing afternoon in Atlanta for England
Jordan Pickford 5/10: Saved well from Nico Gonzalez but had no chance with Enzo Fernandez’s late leveller, prior to Martinez’s winner
Reece James (6/10): His energy was noticeable as was his important influence on proceedings. That was until he was needlessly replaced handing the impetus to Argentina just when they needed it the most
John Stones (5/10):
Maybe it would have been better if his tediously repetitious shoulder ‘injury’ would have kept him out of proceedings given the appalling way the City centre-back lost Lautaro for the winner
Marc Guehi (7/10):
Always gives his all with his elegantly cultured combativeness but simply couldn’t halt Argentina’s late drive for victory
Djed Spence (7/10):
Justified his selection ahead of Nico O’Reilly including the tackle of the tournament when preventing Giuliano Simeone shooting as we started to dream...
Declan Rice (7/10):
You have to fear for the Arsenal midfielder’s 2026-27 season as surely his ceaseless efforts will catch up with him and result in a lengthy lay-off...let’s hope not, but it would be wise to expect it
Elliot Anderson 5.5/10: Picked up a caution before half time for a dreadfully poor challenge on Lionel Messi. Worked hard as ever, but simply couldn’t influence the match in the latter stages as the game slipped away from England
Morgan Rogers 6/10: What could and should have been an inspired selection was lost in the midst of Tuchel’s wretched late tactics that saw a number of influential players removed as England disastrously lost momentum. Even if we’ll always have the Villa midfielder’s cross for Gordon to make us dream on 55 minutes. That said, Arsenal really shouldn’t fork out upwards of £80m for the player...
Jude Bellingham 6.5/10: Targeted from first till last by unsavoury Argentine tactics as the South American opposition staged a remarkable comeback, fuelled by Tuchel’s late timidity. However, Jude can and should be immensely proud of his contributions to England’s stirring run to the last four. At the tender age of 23 the Real Madrid star has many more tournaments to come in his bid to get his country over the line. Let’s hope so at any rate...
Anthony Gordon 7.5/10: Put England ahead and was heading for a place among the immortals with his team 1-0 up with a mere 240 seconds of normal time remaining following after perceptive run in behind underwhelming right-back Molina. His substitution on 72 minutes marked the decline and fall of Tuchel’s side, and who knows, perhaps Tuchel’s stint as England boss
Harry Kane 4/10: Anonymous. Despite such a stellar season questions now have to be asked of the England striker who will be 37 by the time the 2030 edition comes around, as the country’s record scorer once again failed on the biggest international stage
Substitutes:
Ezri Konsa 5/10: The start of the slide came when Tuchel swapped goalscorer Gordon for the Villa centre-back in a dreadfully poor ‘hold what we have’ decision that will haunt the German for the remainder of his managerial stint in the Three Lions hotseat, and beyond no doubt
Dan Burn 5/10: Tuchel decided to hook James with England 1-0 up on 82 minutes to go but such a wretchedly defensive tactic handed the advantage to Argentina. The fact the Newcastle defender was thrown up front after the South Americans were allowed the chance to stage a recovery for the ages said it all about the German’s muddled thinking
Nico O’Reilly 5/10: Part of a double-switch with big Dan Burn, with the City defender swapping for Rice as further momentum and midfield stability was needlessly ceded
Marcus Rashford (N/A): Introduced in the sixth minute of injury time. Why?
Ivan Toney (N/A): Another meaninglessly desperate late throw of the dice with the game lost
Thomas Tuchel (0/10)
……..
World Cup newspaper articles and Substack links
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/cosmos-njs-legendary-club-refuses-die
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/rising-once-again
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/team-thats-building-future
Juneteenth Joy in glorious San Francisco
Homelessness, hardship and hope in Oakland
Canada 1-1 Bosnia. Toronto: Larin rescues Canada in tense World Cup opener
This Is Toronto: Everyone Is Welcome For The World Cup
Forever Arsenal in a town built on solidarity
…….
My Substack North American World Cup diaries so far
Canada World Cup Diary: Poutine, Peameal, Niagara Falls, Blue Jays Baseball and Beers
America World Cup Diary: Refused beer in Seattle after British driver’s licence not accepted
Seattle embraces the tournament with style
America World Cup diary: Superb Seattle Is Off The Scale
World Cup Diary: Exploring glorious San Francisco
World Cup diary: I get another Arsenal tattoo, in Haight-Ashbury
World Cup Diary: A boat trip to the infamous Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay
World Cup Diary: Cheesestake, Curacao and Ivory Coast in fantastic fun loving Philly
World Cup Diary: Good to be back in the States as England vs Argentina looms large here in Atlanta
Very hard not to blame the manager. All I can say in his favour, I think fitness/ injuries in the squad may be even worse than we know about and he tried to just hang on rather than face extra time. Rice, Saka and other key players either missing or not at their very best, perhaps credit to those on the pitch who hung on.
Have long shared the opinion that the nature of the EPL makes it very difficult for England to win these summer tournaments. I know not all England players spent the season in the EPL but enough of them did .Just have to consider what the Arsenal players have been through this season, and for some, it was starting to show in this tournament with absences, injuries and substitutions.
But it’s going to be hard to shift considerable blame from Tuchel. I suspect England will stick with him, not as if the FA have a great track record in showing managers, if Tuchel were to go, always the fear the next Hodgson or McLaren type figure would soon be announced.
Such a shame for many reasons, not least of which, England had the opportunity to deliver a knockout blow to some pretty obnoxious opponents.
Pretty sure Spain will deal with them, I will certainly be supporting them and hoping for a goal or two from our man