England make Thomas Tuchel sack decision after World Cup exit
Thomas Tuchel came in for huge criticism after England were beaten by Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.
England have made a decision on the future of Thomas Tuchel after suffering a heartbreaking exit at the hands of Argentina.
England were beaten 2-1 by the reigning world champions in the World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, with Argentina turning the game around with late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez after Anthony Gordon put the Three Lions ahead.
Martinez popped up with a header in the 91st minute to send Argentina into a second consecutive final and deny England a first appearance since their triumph on home soil in 1966.
Tuchel was widely criticised by pundits and fans for his substitutions against Argentina, which began with Ezri Konsa replacing goalscorer Gordon and England retreating to a back five as they tried to hold on to their lead.
Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly were also brought on, before Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney were thrown on in a last roll of the dice in the 96th minute.
But the feeling was that although it worked well against Mexico when they defended excellently with 10 men for a historic win in the Azteca Stadium, England invited too much pressure and were ultimately punished by Argentina’s quality.
There were similarities to the manner of the agonising tournament losses suffered by Gareth Southgate’s sides and naturally the Tuchel experiment came into question.
The German was brought in to get England over the line in a major tournament but despite the disappointment of the Argentina defeat, Tuchel is still poised to continue in the role until after Euro 2028 – co-hosted by England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.
Speaking after the game, the former Chelsea coach: “We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros. I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
According to the Press Association, Tuchel also has the backing of the FA. His initial deal was only due to last until after the World Cup but he signed a contract extension in February to keep him in the position for another two years.
At the team’s Kansas City base, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham praised the efforts of Tuchel and the group.
He said: “It is heartbreaking to be so close. The players and Thomas gave it everything today and the squad, coaches and staff could not have worked harder during the tournament.
“I would like to thank them all – and also give my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful fans here in the USA and at home. We felt your support every step of the way and we are all so disappointed not to go further.”
England’s tournament is not over just yet as they will play in the third place play-off against fellow losing semi-finalists in Miami on Saturday.
