The scrutiny of Thomas Tuchel’s approach in England’s painful World Cup semi-final collapse has intensified, with Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane adding their voices to the post-match debate.
England’s campaign ended on Wednesday night after a 2-1 defeat to Argentina, a result made even harder to digest by the fact they were still in front with just five minutes of normal time left.
Tuchel has faced heavy criticism since the final whistle, particularly over his decision to protect the lead by moving towards a back five through his substitutions. The shift left England increasingly passive, with their attacking threat fading almost entirely as the match slipped away.
Discussing the changes he felt England should have made while leading 1-0, Neville told The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, that the bravest call would likely have been to withdraw Harry Kane.
Neville said he had made the same point during the live watch-along, arguing that if England wanted genuine pace through the middle on the counter-attack, Tuchel needed to remove either Jude Bellingham, Kane, or both, and introduce quicker options such as Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers higher up the pitch.
Gary Neville (left) said Thomas Tuchel should have considered substituting Harry Kane (right) during England’s World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina on Wednesday
Neville, who earned 85 caps for England during his playing career, went further by suggesting this may have represented the national team’s best chance of reaching a World Cup final.
Reflecting on the concerns raised before the tournament, he said many had expected England to run into trouble once they faced an opponent capable of dominating possession in the biggest and most pressurised moments — and, in his view, that warning proved accurate.
‘We’ve played Mexico, Norway and DR Congo – Mexico was a tough game, but this is the first team we’ve played at a real high level, and we’ve been found wanting the minute we’ve played a tough team.
‘That’s the closest you’re going to get to a World Cup final – 85 minutes, one-nil up against Argentina, with a final within your grasp.
‘These lads have been brilliant these last five or six tournaments because they’ve got to semi-finals and finals, but this is a painful one for them.
‘Thomas Tuchel will get criticism for his substitutions here, but if he’d got over the line playing 5-4-1 at the end with all the defenders on, everyone would be calling him a genius.’
Neville’s viewpoint about the defensive changes was echoed by former England team-mate Ian Wright, who said: ‘For me, he’s made substitutions that are not attacking, they’re defending.
‘For a manager that’s been as brave as he’s been with the selections from the start, with the players that he’s brought in, were the selections and the substitutions he made up to this point positive in that game?’
Speaking post-match, Tuchel insisted he had ‘no regrets’ with his second-half tactics and said England played their ‘best game’ of the tournament on Wednesday.
Speaking post-match Tuchel insisted he had ‘no regrets’ about his decisions during the game
Roy Keane (left) rubbished Tuchel’s claims, while Ian Wright was unhappy with his tactics
That viewpoint contrasted wildly with Keane who labelled that reflection as ‘rubbish’.
‘That’s rubbish, that’s what I have to say,’ the former Republic of Ireland captain remarked.
‘You can’t say they played our best game – they didn’t play our best game. How many touches did you have in the box? Seven? If you’re playing your best game and you’ve had seven touches in their box, you’re not asking a lot of yourselves. Argentina had 28.’
Elaborating on England’s performance further, Wright conceded that the feeling of failing to build on momentum was all too familiar – with the Euro 2020 final loss a prime example.
‘I remember Italy in the Euros final at Wembley, and then today – same thing. There are patterns every time. We’re in the game, Luke Shaw scores [at Euro 2020], bam, we drop off with no way out.
We equalised against Spain in the Euros [Euro 2024], we dropped back, they scored again, and it happens again today.’
How much is David Beckham set to pocket from his World Cup brand deals? Take on our quiz in our newsletter HERE
