Thomas Tuchel was wrong to suggest England do not have the ‘DNA’ to control possession when many of the nation’s best technical players were either left at home or not used at the tournament, Gary Neville has argued.
Tuchel has come under fire for opting to take off goalscorer Anthony Gordon moments after he gave England the lead, bringing on Ezri Konsa and switching to a back five, inviting Argentina to attack the Three Lions’ back line.
Despite Argentina scoring twice to win the game within a few minutes of his switches, Tuchel has defended his tactical decisions, saying: ‘In this moment my feeling was no structure in the world could have helped us.
‘(We) couldn’t stop the runners from the second line, the midfielders, through the gaps, and the deliveries were on the highest level. You need to get back on the ball; otherwise you cannot break the pressure, and you cannot get the momentum back.
‘I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in Spanish DNA or in our Argentine-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball.’
One of England’s best players in tight spaces is Kobbie Mainoo, who hasn’t played a single minute at this tournament. And Tuchel also decided to leave arguably England’s most technically gifted footballer, Phil Foden, out of his World Cup squad altogether.
Tuchel has come under fire for opting to take off goalscorer Anthony Gordon moments after he gave England the lead, bringing on Ezri Konsa and switching to a back five
Neville took issue with Tuchel’s comments that England do not have the ‘DNA’ to control possession after the German left some of his most technically gifted players at home
Instead of making a like-for-like switch and replacing his tiring midfielder Declan Rice with Mainoo, Tuchel instead opted to bring on defender Nico O’Reilly. Right back Reece James also made way for another centre back in Dan Burn, as England moved to a 5-4-1. It wasn’t until four minutes after Martinez had given Argentina the lead that Tuchel made attacking changes, bringing on Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney in the 96th minute.
Speaking to Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Peter Crouch on Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, Neville said: ‘I did think that he’ll look back and think, “did I send the right message to the players after the goal went in?”, putting three defensive players on before he brings on an attacker.
‘I’m saying this in a non-explosive manner, he (Tuchel) will regret that. I think he gave the players a message to hang on, and they were dropping deeper in the box, and he didn’t really help them get out with the substitutes he put on.
‘His quote (was) “It’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish DNA, or the Argentinian or Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game”.
‘I have a big problem with that. He didn’t bring Kobbie Mainoo on, who could handle the ball better than most. He didn’t bring Bukayo Saka on, who could probably handle the ball better than most.
‘But he also left Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton, Morgan Gibbs-White and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home, technical players. He’s left out what would be generational talents.’
From Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute to Martinez’s goal in the 92nd minute, England had 12 per cent possession to Argentina’s 88 per cent. Their five shots were their fewest in a World Cup match in the last 60 years.
Crouch said: ‘Maybe we were a little bit over-reliant on individual brilliance, we weren’t peppering teams, it was Jude (Bellingham) or Harry (Kane) who stepped up when we needed it most.
Instead of making a like-for-like switch and replacing his tiring midfielder Declan Rice with Mainoo (right), Tuchel instead opted to bring on defender Nico O’Reilly
‘When you watch Spain play, they’re just dominating teams. I never felt we were in complete control of any game, but we’ve got players who can create moments from nothing.’
Despite urging Tuchel to accept that it was a ‘negative move’ bringing on defenders, Keane admitted that he ‘still believes Argentina would have found a way’ regardless of the England manager’s decision-making.
The former Republic of Ireland midfielder said: ‘This idea that if England had been a bit more open, even at 1-0, and started attacking, you’d be saying, “why didn’t you shut up shop, you’re leaving too many spaces”. These brilliant teams find a way to win, and that’s what they did.
‘The manager will get criticised for the subs, of course, and maybe it was a negative move bringing on defenders, so he has to take that.’
England are set to compete against France on Saturday (10pm UK) in the bronze medal match, while Argentina will face Spain in Sunday’s final at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
