Thomas Tuchel has faced heavy criticism after England's 2-1 World Cup semifinal loss to Argentina, but former Three Lions winger Andros Townsend believes the manager did little wrong. Argentina came from behind with two late goals in Atlanta to book a spot in the final against Spain, leaving England heartbroken.
Gordon's goal not enough
England took the lead through Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute, but they failed to build on it. Instead, they retreated, with Tuchel switching to a back five and making defensive substitutions. Argentina seized control, with Enzo Fernandez equalizing in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez heading the winner in stoppage time.
According to Townsend, speaking on talkSPORT, Argentina's tactical response was the decisive factor, not Tuchel's decisions. 'What Argentina did really changed the course of the game rather than anything Thomas Tuchel did,' Townsend said. 'After England scored, Gordon didn't have many touches because he was having to chase Argentina back the other way.'
Argentina's tactical shift
Townsend explained that Argentina switched to a 3-1-6 formation in the 65th minute after bringing on Nico Gonzalez. 'Thomas Tuchel tried to stay brave as long as he could, defending a 4-4-2 against a 3-1-6 is quite stupid, but he left that XI out until the hydration break, when he thought he couldn't leave it any longer,' Townsend said. 'He gave that unit as long as possible to try and get themselves back into the game. But 20 minutes after the goal, England had probably one or two attacks, they couldn't get themselves into the game, so the manager had to make a change, to try and contain it.'
Defending Messi
England's lack of an attacking outlet late on was a problem, but Townsend defended Tuchel's decision to bring on defender Nico O'Reilly to contain Lionel Messi. 'Every game, Messi starts high and tries to get the ball in the pockets as the game goes on he drops deeper and deeper and deeper,' Townsend said. 'You saw the positions he was picking up in the second half, it was like a centre midfield position on the right. That's what he likes to do. Thomas Tuchel getting Nico O'Reilly on to defend Messi in the left wing position was a smarter choice than getting a [Marcus] Rashford on to mark Lionel Messi. That doesn't make sense.'
Players' nerves
Townsend suggested that the players' natural anxiety in such a high-stakes situation cost them the game. 'Imagine you haven't won a World Cup in 60 years, you're 30 minutes away from a World Cup final,' he said. 'You don't want to be the man to be the scapegoat, you make a mistake. It's natural for a player to think ok, we're going to be defensive first because I'm not going to be the man that makes a mistake. I think that honest way of thinking cost them the game.'
