Coach Thomas Tuchel takes 'responsibility' for England defeat in World Cup semis -- and he should

Coach Thomas Tuchel takes 'responsibility' for England defeat in World Cup semis -- and he should originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

He came all the way from Germany to make sure England remained England. That has been the journey of Thomas Tuchel since being hired to coach the Three Lions at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

He was to be the one to elevate this team from not quite to right there.

Instead, the answer again was: not now.

England fell by a 2-1 score to Lionel Messi and Argentina in a World Cup semifinal Wednesday at Atlanta, allowing both goals in the final minutes of the game. Instead of heading to New Jersey with a chance to win the title, they will fly south to Miami for 90 minutes of exercise no one really needs in the consolation game.

It has been 60 years since England reached a World Cup final. That’s six decades filled with so many brilliant talents and so much agony. There was Steven Gerrard’s backward header in 2014, David Beckham’s red card in 1998 and the Hand of God goal by Diego Maradona in 1986. Such superstars as Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Gary Lineker, John Barnes and Paul Gascoine had their moments, their opportunities, and none got even 90 minutes from lifting that precious trophy. Somehow, this was worse.

Here, they were roughly 20 minutes away, with a lead against reigning champion Argentina deep in the second half. In the 69^th minute, England keeper Jordan Pickford had been required to make a spectacular, one-handed save off a header from Nicolas Gonzalez in the center of the box. And along came the gift of the hydration break allowing Tuchel to establish the proper strategy for dealing with what remained of the game.

Protect the lead? Continue to attack? A little of both?

Tuchel called for defender Ezri Konsa to leave the bench and take over for winger Anthony Gordon, the dynamic player whose lovely touch produced the England goal.

It was a very clear message to everyone involved, and its contents were so backward, so obtuse, it might have been sent by semaphore code.

Imagine that: thinking you can bunker against Lionel Messi and come away on the ideal side of the final score. This is his dream game: He doesn't have to run, just skip around and try to conceive dangerous passes or shots on goal. It's like a free throw shooting contest with Steph Curry.

MORE:How Messi, Argentina engineered an epic comeback

Tuchel very subtly attempted to deflect the blame for his decisions. Although every goal kick from Pickford was clearly aimed to the left sideline with no concern for keeping the ball in play and giving England a chance to operate, although Tuchel had been the one to move toward a defensive substitution, he brought up the issue of the players’ on-field approach.

“We got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances and could not turn the ball possession around, and just conceded so, so many crosses and chances and shots,” Tuchel told a FIFA interviewer following the game. “We were close but couldn’t keep the level up after we scored.

“We just tried to help the player … We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open. They won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air.

“We tried to help, but first the responsibility is on the coach, and if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say it was wrong.”

The England players certainly were not blameless for what occurred. Directly after midfielder Enzo Fernandez had fired a somewhat speculative but still fiercely threatening shot from well beyond the box that Pickford deflected over the goal to be safe, Messi sent his corner kick short, got back the back directly and then fired it to Fernandez at the top of the box. There was no England defender near him – all were deeper in the box, concerned about defending against headers, even given what they’d just seen from Fernandez. This time, he was much closer to the goal and slammed it into the top lefthand corner of the net.

On the game-winner from Lautaro Martinez, he was able to sneak between Konsa and central defender John Stones, even though he’s Lautaro Martinez. Messi’s right-footed cross should not have been problematic, but no England defender was in proper position.

“We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games, another semifinal,” star striker Harry Kane told Fox Sports. “We talk about knocking on the door. We’re close. We just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament. These tournaments take it out of you, so much – effort and pressure and mentality. And we’ve shown a lot of that throughout the whole six or seven weeks we’ve been together, but still missing that final piece.”

It turns it wasn’t the coach. Gareth Southgate had reinvigorated the England program and got the Three Lions to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and to finals at the past two European Championships.

It was Southgate who last came this close to glory, when Luke Shaw scored for England against Italy in the second minute of the Euro 2020 final, which had been delayed a year because of the COVID pandemic. His approach was then to focus on defending for more than an hour, before England conceded in the 67^th minute and the game wound up being decided in Italy’s favor by a penalty kick shootout.

“Fundamentally, we wanted to hire a coaching team to give us the best possible chance of winning a major tournament Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham said when Tuchel was hired in October 2024. “And we believe they will do just that.”

Tuchel sure acted as if he were that guy. He sent a clear signal before this World Cup that he was the man with the answers. He cut Real Madrid right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of the best passers and free-kick takers in the world. He had no use for midfielder Adam Wharton, whose play with Crystal Palace has Madrid eagerly interested in a transfer. And there was no room for Morgan Gibbs-White, who scored 15 Premier League goals as a Nottingham Forest midfielder last season, or winger Cole Palmer, the hero of Chelsea’s triumph at last summer’s Club World Cup.

Instead, he brought along Kobbie Mainoo, Ollie Watkins and Jordan Henderson, who came away with a yellow card and broken arm (both Henderson’s) but no appearances in this tournament. His choice of Noni Madueke on the right wing was a disaster. He included striker Ivan Toney and didn’t play him until Wednesday; indeed, Tuchel waited 10 minutes after Argentina’s initial goal and four minutes after falling behind before putting Toney in the game along with winger Marcus Rashford.

Seriously, was there no rush on the bench to pursue an equalizer? There was on the field, too much, as England began firing sloppy, hopeful long-balls toward the box they had only a marginal hope of fielding and less of turning into opportunities.

“You can discuss this with a million coaches – I have to make a decision,” Tuchel said. “That’s how I analyzed the match, and I have to take the responsibility.”

There’s blame to go around. The people who hired him should share it, as well.

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