Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he plans to stay on as England manager to Euro 2028, despite a disappointing exit at the hands of fierce rivals Argentina.
Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez struck late goals to snatch a 2-1 win in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, to send Lionel Messi’s reigning champions into the weekend showpiece match against Spain.
Just when England appeared set for victory after Anthony Gordon’s second-half goal, Argentina mounted a relentless late siege and got their reward as Fernandez levelled before Martinez completed the turnaround in the 92nd minute with Messi providing the pass for the equaliser and the cross for the winner.
Tuchel’s in-game decisions came in for scrutiny and his substitutions were criticised, after replacing Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa in the 72nd minute.
Speaking on the BBC, Wayne Rooney said: “It was too passive. Thomas Tuchel didn’t change anything, but Argentina started come onto them.
“Top managers counteract what is going on and don’t go even deeper. What they do is go more front-footed and try to change the tempo and rhythm of the game. I think he got it wrong.
“Against this team, the world champions, you will not get away with it. This has been the biggest test and we have failed it.”
But Tuchel said at his post-match news conference in Atlanta that he had no regrets.
“The team gave everything and we were very, very close,” the German said. “The team was top, we couldn’t bring it over the line, no, (but) at the moment no regrets.”
Before the tournament, Tuchel extended his contract through to the home Euros, which is being co-hosted by England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
And he added: “We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros. I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
