Fifa World Cup: Tuchel tactics leave England wondering what might have been

A penny for the thoughts of Gareth Southgate, the former England head coach so often lambasted for his conservative, watchful tactics when major prizes were on the line. His successor, Thomas Tuchel, the Champions League-winning boss hired to end the Three Lions’ tournament hoodoo, watched Anthony Gordon put his team 1-0 up against Argentina after 55 minutes of this World Cup semi-final, then went into full-on belt-and-braces mode. On came defenders Ezri Konsa and Dan Burn, as England sank deeper, yielding copious possession to Argentina. It is one thing shutting up shop against Mexico or Norway, another altogether to cede territory and possession to Argentina, to allow Lionel Messi, previously expertly shackled by Elliot Anderson, to take control. As pundits and supporters queued up to criticise Tuchel, he would have had an insight into how Southgate once felt. “The decisions Tuchel made cost us tonight,” Wayne Rooney, the former England striker, said. “I believe that’s the nature of the game, as soon as you lose you get criticised,” Tuchel said. “No one knows what would have happened if we made different decisions. “There’s no sense in engaging with that and losing my head.” So entrenched had England become that when Enzo Fernandez lashed in an 85th-minute equaliser, they had no idea how to reverse the tide. With Michael Buffer, the iconic boxing announcer, watching on, having introduced the teams before kick-off, England were on the ropes. Argentina kept swinging and, in the second of nine added minutes, they landed the knockout blow. Shooting from 18 yards, Alexis Mac Allister thudded the base of a post – the second time he had struck woodwork after a diving header at 1-0 cracked Jordan Pickford’s goal – but Djed Spence was unable to prevent Messi from swooping onto the loose ball. A burst of acceleration created room for Messi to cross, and he delivered with his weaker right foot, firing the ball onto the head of Lautaro Martinez, curiously escaping the attention of England’s overworked defenders and bulging the net with a firm header. The noise generated by the Argentina fans, who outnumbered their English counterparts in a tense, spellbound Mercedes-Benz Stadium, was deafening. “There was blood in the water and we went for it,” Lionel Scaloni, the Argentina head coach, said. “The ball just wouldn’t go in [during a spate of chances before the equaliser], but the team fought to the very end. This is critical for me.” Tuchel, who vowed to remain in charge for the European Championship in two years, said: “Our goal marked a complete momentum switch in the game. Argentina played with more risk and rhythm, with a feeling they had nothing to lose, which freed them up. We suddenly played with the feeling we had a lot to lose.” Argentina, the reigning world and South American champions, will face European champions Spain in Sunday’s final. The teams are ranked No 1 and No 2 in the world, respectively. Argentina deserved to win here and, by every metric, the World Cup final will be contested by the best two national teams. The frustration for England is that Argentina have looked like a ponderous, ageing team in these finals. They got out of jail when recovering from 2-0 down to beat Egypt in their last-16 match, and in the quarter-finals rode their luck to overcome Switzerland. During a fractious and scrappy opening half, there was no indication of the drama that would unfold. A ball directed into touch by Anderson was met with roars from those impassioned Argentina fans, who had embarrassed themselves when raising the volume to drown out the English national anthem before kick-off. “It felt almost like an away game, but we knew that [would be the case] and we matched it,” Tuchel said. Jude Bellingham won two free-kicks in quick succession just past the half-hour, the first delivered by Declan Rice and headed wide by John Stones, the second parried by Emiliano Martinez after Reece James had shot on target. There was one flash of Messi brilliance when he somehow wriggled clear of Anderson, Spence and Gordon in turn, before a frustrated Anderson swiped down the Argentine. England were furious that the midfielder was booked after a number of Argentina infringements had merited nothing more than free kicks. Argentina finally worked Jordan Pickford shortly after half-time, when Julian Alvarez aimed inside the near post after Giuliano Simeone flicked on a Martinez punt downfield. The otherwise quiet Harry Kane was the architect of England’s goal, dropping into his own half and, via an acrobatic Lisandro Martinez attempted clearance and Rice pass, locating Morgan Rogers, chosen over Bukayo Saka on the right. While Nahuel Molina dozed off, Gordon nipped in front of the Argentina right-back to turn Rogers’ low cross past Martinez. “At that moment it was deserved,” Tuchel said. “It was two completely different matches, until the goal and after the goal.” Aiming to become only the second manager to win successive World Cups, after Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo in 1938, Scaloni said: “We were ready to go home sad, knowing we left everything on the pitch. But after they scored, we proved ourselves. “It shows what football is to us. It goes beyond tactics.” Spence celebrated like he had scored, and was congratulated by teammates, after a goal-saving challenge on Simeone, then Rice shot too close to Martinez after he was teed up by James. Pickford superbly saved down to his right from Nico Gonzalez following a wicked, inswinging delivery from Messi, then a ball from substitute Gonzalo Montiel was headed against the post by Mac Allister, who directed another effort straight at Pickford soon after. When Pickford touched over a Fernandez drive, the midfielder ominously finding his range after earlier shooting fractionally over, it felt like England might repeat their successful backs-to-the-wall efforts against Mexico and Norway in the previous two rounds. For the umpteenth time, Messi took the corner short, receiving a return pass to create a more threatening angle. Spotting Fernandez in space, he passed square for the Chelsea player to crisply side-foot the ball into the corner from 25 yards. The wild celebrations were surpassed seven minutes later, when Messi and Martinez combined to send Argentina into their seventh World Cup final. “It is very overwhelming. I always dreamt of this moment with the national team, since my dad bought me my first pair of boots,” Martinez said. “They got tired. They had pressed for 60 minutes and they could not give more. We started to push and we got momentum because we were calmer.” England’s wait to add to their lone final appearance in 1966 goes on. They are condemned now to having to play France in the dreaded, pointless, third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday. Their desolate players looked shell-shocked at full-time, while a number of fans began streaming out of the stadium as soon as the whistle blew following 12 added minutes. “The bigger the occasion, the more pain you feel,” Tuchel said. “We still have a match to play, but we’re not looking forward to it so much.”

Fifa World Cup: Tuchel tactics leave England wondering what might have been

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Argentina come from behind again, but England boss Thomas Tuchel will face plenty of questions in coming days after his side’s defeat

Argentina come from behind again, but England boss Thomas Tuchel will face plenty of questions in coming days after his side’s defeat