Thomas Tuchel has defended his tactical decisions following England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, insisting he has no regrets despite accepting responsibility for the result.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s third-place play-off against France in Miami, the England boss acknowledged his side became “too passive” after taking the lead but stressed the decisions he made were intended to help the team secure a place in the final.
“If you need someone to blame, I take the responsibility,” Tuchel told reporters.
“I took several decisions, trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience and my competitiveness. I took those decisions to help the team get the result. We didn’t get the result.
“So I take the responsibility for those decisions. I would regret it if I didn’t try to help. I would regret it if we didn’t react.”
England looked on course for their first men’s World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon’s opener, only for Argentina to score twice in the closing stages through Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.
Tuchel admitted his side retreated too deep after taking the lead but explained the tactical switch was a response to Argentina’s growing attacking threat.
“They had a lot of offensive changes and a lot of offensive positions,” he said.
“We could not stop the crosses and we could not stop the runners into the box.
“So we decided to play a back five, to have more width in the field and be closer to the players delivering the crosses.
“We just became too passive, and Argentina found another gear. We played against the reigning world champions, we were 1-0 up after 85 minutes against the best player in the world, and we lost 2-1. That is painful.”
Tuchel also rejected suggestions that captain Harry Kane was instructed to play too deep during the closing stages.
“That’s what you do if you defend in a block,” he said. “We were not active enough.”
Mexico clash drained players
The England manager believes the demanding route through the knockout rounds also played a part in his team’s late collapse.
He pointed to the physical toll of playing more than 40 minutes with 10 men against Mexico at altitude before overcoming Norway in the Miami heat.
“The players literally gave everything physically in every single match,” Tuchel said.
“If you see this drop in the data, there must be a reason behind it because the motivation was through the roof.”
“We feel this pain most of all, and it is our scar that we carry now,” he said.
“It is my pain and the players’ pain.
“We will overcome it, we will use it and we will have a reaction.
“If we win tomorrow, it will be England’s best World Cup finish in 60 years.”
