world cup final<\/span> Battle against Spain.<\/p>\nTuchel’s tactical choices in the biggest clash between football’s biggest rivals will be scrutinized and criticized for years to come. England missed out on a chance to reach the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.<\/p>\n
“They won everything with headers. They crossed a lot. So we closed the gaps inside and went to a back five to be strong in the air,” Tuchel said.<\/p>\n
“Right after the goal, we didn’t have any substitutes, so we conceded too many crosses and too many chances. So we tried to help,” Tuchel said. “But of course the responsibility lies with the coach. And…if it doesn’t work out, it’s easy to say it was wrong.”<\/p>\n
Tuchel’s chess moves could not contain Messi, Argentina’s attacking maestro. According to Opta, Argentina had a whopping 88% of possession in the 38 minutes between England’s goal and Argentina’s winner.<\/p>\n
According to Opta, this is only the second time this century that a team has scored the first goal in a World Cup semi-final but failed to advance to the final. Another lead taken by England was against Croatia in 2018.<\/p>\n
England took the lead in the 55th minute with a goal from Anthony Gordon. However, Argentina quickly turned the tide by putting intense pressure on England’s defense.<\/p>\n
In order to protect their lead, England moved closer and closer to their own goal, hoping to build the kind of fortress they had in defeating Mexico in the round of 16 despite being down to 10 men.<\/p>\n
Tuchel substituted defenders Reece James and Dan Byrne in the 82nd minute, as well as midfielder Declan Rice and defender Nico O’Reilly.<\/p>\n
England captain Harry Kane said: “It’s unfortunate that we gave up space in the last 20 minutes.” “Not only (Messi) but also the other players got used to the game and gained confidence and were able to put the ball into dangerous areas. In the end, we were unstoppable.”<\/p>\n
Fernandes scored with a precise right foot from just outside the penalty area just three minutes after England’s substitution. Messi set up the play with a pass to a teammate, but the English defenders were unable to stop him and curled a shot past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.<\/p>\n
The defending champions continued to win and England’s walls continued to crumble. Argentina hit the crossbar and another header missed the goal mouth, but a cross from Messi was beaten by the England defense and Martinez scored with a close-range header.<\/p>\n
“They were tired,” Martinez said. “They kept pressing for 60 minutes and ran out of steam. They were backing away after scoring. That allowed us to move the ball more calmly and stretch the pitch.”<\/p>\n
England’s defense had won praise after previous games, particularly in the second half of their 3-2 win over Mexico in the round of 16, for their hunkering down as El Tri attacked the opposition’s last line with a flurry of crosses. But that happened while England were down one player after Jarrell Quansah was shown a red card in the 54th minute.<\/p>\n
Byrne, a 6-foot-7 defender who shined in the stands in Mexico City, said Wednesday’s approach didn’t work.<\/p>\n
\u201cOff the ball, we were probably a little too deep defensively,\u201d Byrne said. “I felt it was just a matter of time because Argentina were creating a lot of chances. … With 10 to 15 minutes left until the World Cup final, maybe we should have seen it through.”<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
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