Thomas Tuchel defended his defensive substitutions after England surrendered to Argentina in Atlanta.
The German came in for heavy criticism from pundits and fans alike after his side threw the initiative to their old foes after taking the lead in the World Cup semi-final thanks to a fine goal from Anthony Gordon.
However, with close to half an hour including stoppage time to play Tuchel withdrew the Barcelona winger for defender Ezri Konsa and momentum almost instantly shifted to the Argentinians.
England, suddenly clinging on, had a series of narrow escapes before, in a further retreat, Tuchel replaced Declan Rice for Nico O’Reilly and Reece James for Dan Burn.
Within three minutes Argentina had levelled and, with so many defensive players on the field, it appeared there would only be one winner. That transpired to be the case when Lautaro Martinez completed the job in injury time.
Thomas Tuchel (left) has taken a lot of criticism for his substitutions in defeat to Argentina
‘If it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say that it was wrong,’ Tuchel told the BBC – and then suggested England were on the back foot before his changes.
‘We just tried to help the players. We conceded straight away. We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open.
‘Straight after our goal, without a substitution we conceded way too many crosses and chances. We tried to help but the responsibility was on the coach.’
Between Gordon’s opener and Enzo Fernandez’s leveller, England had just 12 per cent of possession.
‘We couldn’t get out,’ Tuchel said. ‘Of course we wanted to go for the second goal but I didn’t feel an offensive substitution would help.
‘We stayed in our 4-4-2 but we became passive, couldn’t win any balls or keep the ball. It wasn’t a structure problem.
‘We changed nothing after the goal but the match changed completely. I understand these discussions are out there and other coaches know it better after the game.’
Former England strikers Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney were quick to criticise.
‘The decisions Thomas Tuchel made cost us tonight,’ Rooney said.
‘He played his cards very, very early and it has backfired,’ added Alan Shearer. ‘They were physically and mentally done when Argentina got that first goal.’
Tuchel did, at least, shoulder the blame.
Enzo Fernandez’s equalising goal ruined Tuchel’s defensive gameplan and it all fell apart
England could not rally and Tuchel was left to front up to a heartbreaking World Cup exit
‘I had to make a decision,’ he said. ‘I have to analyse the match. I take responsibility. No regrets. The team gave everything and we were very close. We deserved to be up 1-0. We played maybe our best match in the circumstances. No regrets.’
Meanwhile, Argentina’s joyous players celebrated with a banner proclaiming: ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ (‘the Falklands Islands are Argentine’), after the game, continuing their persistent references to the 1982 War, in which Britain reclaimed the territory after an Argentine invasion resulting in the loss of 907 lives.
FIFA, who have continuously refused to condemn the messaging, despite it contravening their rules, have again been contacted for comment.
Outside the venue, which was not segregated, a number of scuffles broke out.
