Thomas Tuchel criticized England’s approach under Gareth Southgate early in his appointment, but has been criticized for similar tactics following his side’s World Cup exit.
Thomas Tuchel watched as England lost the lead in the semi-finals and were eliminated from the World Cup (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel, who claimed England lacked “hunger” under Gareth Southgate and was “more afraid of going into games than winning”, has been accused of similar allegations after the Three Lions’ World Cup exit.
England’s dreams were dashed on Wednesday night as Argentina fought back from a 1-0 deficit to score two late goals and score an injury-time winner to seal their place in the World Cup final.
Anthony Gordon made the nation believe with a goal just before time expired, but from then on the whole team adopted a more defensive approach, Tuchel became increasingly reluctant to make substitutions and more and more defenders were watching the game.
It didn’t work, with the German himself criticizing England’s approach at Euro 2024, claiming England lacked the desire to win games and instead were always trying to hold on.
He previously told ITV: “Identity, clarity, rhythm, repeating patterns, player freedom, player expression, hunger. In my observation, they were more afraid of dropping out of the tournament than they were of the excitement and hunger to win the tournament.”
His comments look all the more awkward considering he appears to be taking a similar approach. The majority of pundits accused the former Chelsea manager of simply trying to maintain a narrow lead, rather than looking for more points against the world champions.
Lionel Messi took advantage of England’s tactical and positional changes and assisted both goals, but Tuchel admitted the English side had become “too passive”.
Gareth Southgate was criticized for not making the right changes in the game despite having such success (Image: Getty Images)
He said, “It’s very disappointing. It was a close game, but after we scored, we became passive and allowed a lot of chances. We couldn’t turn the ball around and allowed a lot of crosses, chances and shots. It was a close game, but even after we scored, we couldn’t continue to raise the level.”
Tuchel has stressed his desire to lead England into their next major competition, a home Euros, but knows that after a defeat like this the man in the dugout is sure to quell it.
“Of course, the responsibility lies with the coach and if it doesn’t work out, it’s easy to say it was wrong,” he said.
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