Tuchels

England have showed character at this World Cup, coming from behind to defeat both DR Congo at the last-32 stage and Norway in the quarter-finals.

“The difference is hanging on against Norway or Mexico [in the last 16], they have not got the quality this Argentina team have got in terms of the ability on the ball and the ability they have to punish you,” former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport.

“Tuchel played his cards very, very early and it has backfired.”

England looked to have taken full control of the semi-final against their old foes when Gordon put them ahead 10 minutes into the second half.

England’s fans celebrated wildly – but then the Three Lions opted to sit back and defend.

“The fact that England got themselves in front and then basically handed Argentina the initiative… that was a coaching catastrophe from Thomas Tuchel,” Chris Sutton, a Premier League winner with Blackburn in 1994-95, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“You can’t expect to defend for 30 minutes against the quality Argentina had.

“It’s all on the coach where I am concerned. He made the changes. He was negative, so the question which I’m going to ask is ‘how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to take this team forward?'”

England have come undone against Argentina in the past.

Who can forget Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the 1986 World Cup or the 1998 World Cup defeat that burns so deep.

England, however, have no-one but themselves to blame for Wednesday’s loss.

“Norway and Mexico panicked against England,” former England goalkeeper Joe Hart told BBC Sport.

“I didn’t see one bit of panic from that Argentina side. I saw belief, I saw the realising they could free up the great man Lionel Messi in the pocket, and they were running all over England.

“Gareth Southgate took a lot of criticism for the big moments with England, when they had the lead in big games and shut up shop. I don’t see that anything has changed in that big moment out there.”

So what were the changes that frustrated England fans so much?

Leading 1-0, many expected Tuchel to go for another goal – but instead the German made three defensive changes.

He brought Konsa on for Gordon in the 72nd minute – switching to a back five – before bringing on further defensive reinforcements 10 minutes later in Burn and O’Reilly.

Tuchel sent on forwards Rashford and Toney in added time, but it proved too little too late.

“I felt the changes we made at 1-0, that if Argentina scored we wouldn’t make extra time,” added Rooney.

Former England defender Micah Richards told BBC Sport: “When England scored that first goal they should have gone for the second.

“Yes, you respect their quality, but dropping deep allowed Argentina to get into their flow.”

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, said Tuchel went too deep too soon.

“I think he has got that wrong,” added Robinson, who won 41 caps for England between 2003 and 2007.

“He has got a lot of decisions right, but I think trying to defend a lead against this team was a wrong choice.”

Tuchel’s decision to select a central defender in Chalobah, rather than a natural full-back replacement, is further proof Real Madrid’s Alexander-Arnold remains well out of the picture.

Alexander-Arnold’s fate seemed sealed as far back as August when Tuchel left him out of England’s squad for World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.

This was after Tuchel even opted to pick Alexander-Arnold’s former Liverpool team-mate Curtis Jones, a central midfielder, ahead of him at right-back against Andorra in June.

Tuchel has made his concerns over Alexander-Arnold’s perceived defensive frailties clear, saying: “If he wants to have this impact in the English national team then he has to take the defensive part very, very seriously.

“Because when we are talking, especially about qualifying football, and then tournament football, the one defensive error, the one moment where you are not 100% awake, can be decisive. It can be the moment where you pack your suitcases and go home.”

Packing his suitcase early for a flight back to England is not on Tuchel’s agenda – so one of the country’s most naturally gifted footballers is overlooked again.

Alexander-Arnold was not included in Tuchel’s 35-man squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March, missing out again when the coach needed to seek reinforcements.

Tuchel instead picked Arsenal’s Ben White, who has not been a regular at club level and had been in self-imposed England exile since the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

Alexander-Arnold did make Tuchel’s provisional 55-man World Cup squad, although that could hardly be called a ringing endorsement.

It is in sharp contrast to the faith placed in Alexander-Arnold by Lee Carsley, England’s Under-21 coach who bridged the gap between Southgate’s departure and Tuchel’s appointment.

Carsley even used Alexander-Arnold at left-back in a 3-1 Nations League win at Finland in October 2024, crowning his performance with a superb free-kick.

Alexander-Arnold started four games out of six under Carsley but none of Tuchel’s 14 – those facts speak for themselves.

As a head coach who fixates on squad togetherness, was there a worry that having such a high-profile player on the margins might lead Alexander-Arnold to provide an unintentional distraction and focus of attention?

Alexander-Arnold’s latest rejection appears to be further evidence there is no way back for him with England as long as Tuchel is in charge.

There was certainly some surprise when England boss Tuchel opted to leave Wharton out of his 26-man squad heading to the World Cup.

Palace may have not had a great domestic season given they finished 15th in the Premier League and went out of the FA Cup against non-League Macclesfield – but they have now won a European trophy and Wharton was hugely influential in that.

This Conference League final performance was another reason to be wondering why Wharton is not on the plane.

The decision to pick Brentford midfielder Henderson at the age of 35 over the 22-year-old Wharton may be the most eye-catching and surprising selection.

Henderson has obviously been picked for his experience but Wharton would probably have more to give on the pitch if you compare not only their performances this season but also last term.

“I understand why the manager has taken Henderson but for me if he is going to do that kind of job, take him as a coach,” said Hoddle. “Take him as a player-coach if you like but I think there was a spot there for Wharton.”

The re-emergence of Mainoo at Manchester United has also not helped Wharton given the Palace midfielder was in Tuchel’s squads for the last two international breaks and featured in qualifiers against Serbia and Albania before a friendly appearance against Uruguay in March.

Mainoo, given he was being frozen out at Old Trafford by Ruben Amorim for the first half of the season, was not involved under Tuchel until the March friendlies and now has won his way into favour.

Both were at Euro 2024 but Wharton never got on the pitch while Mainoo started all four knockout games, including the final.

Arsenal‘s Declan Rice is surely one of the first names on the team-sheet and Elliot Anderson is expected to partner him while Tuchel also has Bellingham, Eze and Rogers as midfield options.

It certainly feels a very harsh decision to leave someone like Wharton at home, even if Tuchel has many choices in the position.