In the end, the semi-finals were the limit.
England’s World Cup ambitions have been clear from the start, not just in the tournament but since Thomas Tuchel was hired to replace Gareth Southgate, to ‘win the bloody thing’.
The former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain manager was initially handed a lucrative 18-month contract with his sole focus on winning the World Cup, 60 years after the Three Lions’ solitary victory. And although the FA and Tuchel extended their pre-tournament agreement to take part in Euro 2028, their goals for this summer remain the same.
But when it comes to crisis, the real crisis is not the second-round struggle against the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the last 16 trips to the Aztecs, but England proving to be underpowered, as they have often been in recent years. Croatia in 2018, Italy in 2021, France in 2022, and Spain in 2024 will be joined by Argentina in 2026. Once again facing a team widely considered to be on par or slightly worse, it was over.
There has been no shortage of criticism since the loss in Atlanta, much of it directed at Tuchel and his replacements. In the end, he made the decision to make a change and become super defensive.
But is it all up to the manager? What happened to those players who stopped pressing high at 1-0 and started dropping deep, retreating to the edge of the 18-yard box before giving up the ball and being subbed?
“When we were 1-0 up it looked like we were trying to hold on, but at this level it’s not enough,” admitted Harry Kane. Leading 1-0, footage showed Tuchel and his number two Anthony Barry instructing their players to move forward, while sideline substitutes instructing the eleven on the field to fall back.
So what do you think? Was Tuchel the biggest reason for England’s semi-final exit? Was it ultimately the players who couldn’t do what was required of them? Or is there a flaw somewhere in the middle?
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