Former England star Joe Cole has admitted he was never comfortable with a German managing the Three Lions, as Thomas Tuchel faces intense scrutiny following England's 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
England collapse against Argentina
England threw away a lead in the semi-final, with Anthony Gordon putting them ahead on 55 minutes. However, Tuchel's decision to replace attacking players with defenders invited pressure, and Argentina equalised through Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martinez headed the winner in stoppage time.
The defending champions will now face Spain in the final, while England must regroup for the third-place play-off against France on Saturday.
Cole's criticism of Tuchel
Speaking on The Rest Is Football, Cole, who earned 56 caps for England, said: 'I loved Thomas Tuchel as a Chelsea manager and what he did, I think he's brilliant. I was never comfortable with a German managing England. I think we're England, right? I think we should be able to have an Englishman managing England. I just feel that should be something that we look at. I think it's okay for some of the smaller nations to bring in someone else to help them develop.'
Tuchel was initially appointed on a contract until this summer, but the FA extended his deal until 2028 earlier this year. Cole believes that extension was premature: 'He was brought in for that moment, when we're at the back end of a tournament to be the difference, to make the right decisions at the big times. With that, it was madness to give him the two-year extension when he hasn't delivered what he was brought in for.'
Tuchel defends substitutions
Tuchel's decision to switch to a back five, replacing Gordon with Ezri Konsa, has been widely criticised. However, the manager defended his tactics, telling ITV: 'I thought we were the better team until we scored, but the mindset shifted. I take the responsibility for the substitutions. It's easy to be a coach after the game and tell the story from the result. No one can prove what would have happened with other substitutions.'
He explained: 'I thought we needed a back five to close the gaps for all the crossing. They played with two wide wingers and two strikers so they had four players in the last line, so it made sense to me to have five players in the last line. But we didn't stop the second line from coming through the gaps. We were not physical enough in these moments. Anyway, it's not a matter of structure, you can play in any structure, but we got too passive and got punished for that.'
