England coach Thomas Tuchel has declared he has "no regrets" over the tactical decisions that will be debated for years, after his side surrendered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 to Argentina in a stunning World Cup semi-final turnaround — ending England's best chance of reaching the final since 1966.
Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi, scored twice in the final minutes to complete a dramatic comeback. Enzo Fernández levelled in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martínez struck in the second minute of injury time to send Argentina through to a final against Spain.
A collapse that will haunt English football
Anthony Gordon's goal in the 55th minute had given England what looked like a platform for a historic victory. But Argentina turned the match on its head with relentless pressure, winning headers and flooding England's penalty area with crosses. The defeat was only the second time in World Cup history that a team lost a semi-final after scoring first — and remarkably, the other occasion also involved England, when they fell to Croatia in 2018.
Fernández's equaliser arrived barely three minutes after Tuchel made his substitutions, cutting inside onto his right foot from just outside the penalty area and curling a precision strike past diving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Messi had played the pass into his feet, and England's defenders failed to close the Argentine down in time.
Harry Kane summed up the dressing room's mood afterwards. "We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is not enough," the striker said. "Just gutted, gutted. Because we've worked so hard to get here."
Tuchel under scrutiny over late substitutions
The decisions Tuchel made as England tried to protect the lead will draw intense scrutiny. With Argentina winning aerial duels and repeatedly crossing into the box, Tuchel switched to a back five in the 82nd minute — bringing on defender Dan Burn for Reece James and defender Nico O'Reilly for midfielder Declan Rice.
It was a move designed to close gaps inside and shore up England's aerial defence, but it backfired almost immediately. The Argentine pressure continued to mount and Fernández's goal followed within minutes of the changes.
"They won every header. They kept crossing and crossing. So we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air," Tuchel explained. "Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. So we tried to help."
Tuchel acknowledged that the coach carries responsibility when tactics don't work, but was unapologetic. "You can discuss this with a million coaches — I have to make a decision on the pitch," he said. "In the moment, no regrets. The team gave everything, and we were very, very close."
"We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match in the circumstances. The team was top, we couldn't get over the line, but no regrets," he added.
The contrast with England's earlier tournament resilience was stark. The side had famously held on to beat Mexico in the Round of 16 despite being reduced to ten men — a defensive effort that seemed to inform Tuchel's thinking against Argentina, with ultimately very different results.
England face France in third-place play-off
England now turn their attention to the third-place play-off against France, scheduled for Sunday at 7am AEST. It will be a difficult match to motivate players for after coming so close to the final, but it offers an opportunity to finish the tournament on a positive note.
Argentina, meanwhile, advance to face Spain in what promises to be a spectacular World Cup final — a reward for a comeback that Messi orchestrated with characteristic brilliance against an England side that had done almost everything right, until the moments that mattered most. Tuchel's legacy from this tournament will likely hinge on how those final ten minutes are remembered. For now, the coach insists he would do the same again.
