The Duke of Sussex has responded to England’s unsuccessful attempt to win the World Cup this year, weighing in on the national men’s football team in a new interview.
Harry appeared alongside former England centre-back Rio Ferdinand on James Corden’s Fox Sports series, days after England lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
Argentina would ultimately go on to lose the final 1-0 to a dominant Spain side on Sunday night (19 July), while England could take a small amount of consolation from a 6-4 victory over France in Saturday’s third-place playoff.
Appearing on FIFA World Cup on Fox After Hours with James Corden, the royal was asked what he thought it would take for England to get to a World Cup final.
“Ask him,” Harry joked, gesturing in the direction of Ferdinand.
“I have to be very careful what I say here,” he continued. “What’s it gonna take? It’s a mindset. I think that what we saw was a slight shock value for the team.
“We’re one-nil up against Argentina, and then there was this immediate temptation to fall into defence. I don’t think it was a tactic; I don’t think that was the plan. It just happened.”
Harry, who is a known fan of the sport, seemed to deflect criticism away from England manager Thomas Tuchel, who has borne the brunt of the public’s ire over our exit in the competition.
Tuchel was scolded for his defensive substitutions, which failed to prevent Argentina from scoring twice late in the game, sending Lionel Messi’s team through to the final.
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“You can’t try to defend a one-nil lead against a team like that,” he continued. “You just can’t. So the mindset is the belief. It’s the fact that if you are one-nil up, believe that you can be two-nil up.”
When it comes to club football, Harry is rumoured to be a fan of the North London club Arsenal, although he has never explicitly confirmed this.
His brother, William, Prince of Wales, is a noted fan of Aston Villa, and is frequently seen attending matches at the Villa Park ground in Birmingham.
