MIAMI — England manager Thomas Tuchel is standing behind every call he made during Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina, even as critics pile on following the team’s 2-1 defeat.
England had taken a 1-0 lead in that match before Argentina stormed back with two late goals to advance to Sunday’s final against Spain. Tuchel drew heavy criticism for defensive substitutions he made while his team was ahead, with many arguing those moves allowed Argentina to dominate England’s penalty area in the closing stages.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Tuchel was direct when asked whether he had second thoughts about those choices.
“If you are asking if I regret my decisions, if this is the question, then I say no. I don’t regret my decisions because I felt that we became too passive,” he said.
“I took several decisions, trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience, trusting my competitiveness, and I took the decision in order to help the team and get the result. I would regret if I didn’t help. I would regret if we didn’t react, but I have no regrets over the decision itself.”
Tuchel also acknowledged that the physical toll of the tournament may have played a role in the result. He pointed to England’s round-of-16 victory over Mexico at altitude, the extra-time win over Norway in the quarter-finals played in Miami’s intense heat, and the extensive travel the squad had endured throughout the competition.
He pushed back against the idea that his substitutions could be judged simply as offensive or defensive moves, saying the game was far more nuanced than that framing suggests.
“No one knows the outcome of any other substitution of any other changes,” Tuchel said. “If drama is needed and if the blame game needs to be played, okay, you can do that. But I have the right to not engage in that.”
When a reporter brought up a specific comment that his substitutions amounted to “cowardice,” Tuchel declined to take the bait.
“I don’t read praise and I don’t believe in comments like this,” he said. “If we win the game tomorrow, we have the best results of a World Cup in 60 years. That’s the perspective to it.”
England won the World Cup back in 1966 but have lost both of their previous third-place playoff matches, following semi-final exits in 1990 and 2018.
Tuchel confirmed he plans to make changes to his lineup for Saturday’s match against France in Miami. He described the game as a chance for England to prove they belong among the world’s elite.
“Nobody wants to be in this game tomorrow,” he said. “All of these four teams wanted to be in New York, but it is an official World Cup game. It is a big game against one of the very best teams in the world. It’s a moment to show that we are actually made of what we showed through the whole tournament. There is no doubt about that.”
