POV: Doubting Thomas (Joe Citrone)

Star Sports social media manager JOE CITRONE reacts to Thomas Tuchel’s tactics in England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.

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This one hurts.

It’s not like we’ve not been here before, and let’s be honest, we’ll probably be here again… but this one really does hurt.

As ever, England’s latest World Cup disappointment has sparked the inevitable post-mortem, and if social media is anything to go by, the biggest problem from this defeat is glaringly obvious.

It’s never nice to point fingers, but there are no two ways about it…it was a tactical disaster from Thomas Tuchel, and that’s what has cost England a place in the World Cup final.

After the Three Lions went 1-0 up through a well-worked Anthony Gordon goal, we lost all belief in our ability to push on for a second and instead tried to replicate the heroism of the Azteca by deploying the strategy of simply throwing on defenders and hoping for the best…but why?

Surely, at that point, with Argentina almost certain to open up as they chased an equaliser, you turn to the pace waiting on your bench. Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Eberechi Eze and Ollie Watkins all had the attributes to exploit the space on the counter-attack and stretch the game, but England instead retreated deeper and deeper, inviting pressure – and Lionel Messi never needs an invitation.

Under Gareth Southgate, we had no issue getting to the latter stages of tournaments; it was getting over the line that was the sticking point, and that’s why we recruited Tuchel on a highly lucrative contract. To deliver in exactly these kinds of moments.

But when it came down to it, when it really mattered, this elite tactical acumen that he’s so often been credited with was nowhere to be seen. And it does ultimately beg the question: what has he actually brought to this tournament that Southgate didn’t?

The public disagreement between Tuchel and Jude Bellingham after the win over Norway hardly suggests a more harmonious camp. As I’ve already said, I’m not convinced England have been any better off tactically, and despite all the change, they’ve still gone no further than Southgate managed.

In fact, it feels very similar to EURO 2024 in the sense that we never actually put together a single complete performance, but kept finding a way…until we didn’t.

I’ve seen a lot of chatter about Tuchel’s future in the aftermath of the Argentina defeat, and whilst it would be a bold and brave call to axe him, the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss certainly has questions to answer, and needs to answer them with more humility and accountability than he did in his post-match presser.

What has Tuchel actually brought to this tournament that Southgate didn’t?

That was game management that Southgate would have been absolutely slaughtered for. #ENG

— Joe Citrone (@Joe_Citrone) July 15, 2026

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