England World Cup comment: Difference-maker Thomas Tuchel delivers more of the same

It was a gutsy move by a coach high on self-belief. Ultimately, he failed.

Considering that until 1990 England just did not reach major semi-finals – the home World Cup of 1966 was the only exception – and that for two decades after Euro 96 they were essentially a quarter-final team, it might feel churlish to moan too much about a last-four tie lost to the world champions in added time. But Tuchel wanted it this way.

And England's 2-1 defeat to Argentina felt so depressingly familiar.

Like at the last European Championship, they never really played their best football but on the back of real character and a few outstanding individuals, they powered on.

They were brilliant in qualifying. Again. They fought their way to the business end of a major tournament, just like in 2018, 2021 and 2024. But as soon as they came up against a genuine contender to win the competition, they lost.

How they lost was familiar too.

"They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament in my observation than having the excitement and hunger to win it" was Tuchel's view on England at Euro 2024, which quickly resurfaced.

Wednesday's game looked like a match between an experienced tournament team and an inexperienced one. But England cannot play that card any more – not after two finals and two semi-finals in their last five major competitions. You could even count the 2019 Nations League semi-final which Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Declan Rice and Marcus Rashford all started.

Yet still when the chance for greatness beckons, England look too scared to take it.

His starting XIs have often been questionable, but all tournament long, Tuchel had shown the in-game management and substitutions his predecessor Gareth Southgate was criticised for.

Against Argentina, two massive calls in the starting XI came off as Djed Spence was England's best performer, and Morgan Rogers made Anthony Gordon's opening goal from out on the right.

But Tuchel’s negative substitutions saw England drop deep and invite pressure. It was acceptable against Mexico when England were a man down and two goals ahead, but here it meant Argentina did not have to pass their way into England's final third, they started there.

And with so many defenders on top of one another, Lautaro Martinez still somehow got between them to head the winner.

Add in the English disease at major tournaments – an inability to keep the ball – and they had just 17 per cent possession between Gordon's goal and Martinez's winner 37 minutes later. To say they were asking for it was an understatement.

With the depth of talent available to them, substitutions should always have been England's trump card in North America, but Tuchel's poor pre-tournament squad selection came back to bite him in Atlanta.

Defending their lead, England needed a midfielder who could keep the ball and drive them out with Rogers and Jude Bellingham tiring, and out wide Gordon substituted for a centre-back (playing full-back).

Declan Rice did it for England's opening goals against Mexico and against versus Argentina, but he is a victim of a greedy squeeze-every-last-drop global fixture list. Neither he nor Reece James were ever likely to last the distance.

Jordan Henderson's broken arm was just bad luck, but Tuchel had wasted the back-up spot to Rice on Kobbie Mainoo, who he clearly did not fancy. Nico O'Reilly came on instead but effectively played as a second left-back, in front of Spence.

Tuchel's need to make so many physical substitutions in the knockout stages and his obsession with people who could cover at right-back without being specialists – plus on Wednesday his timidity – meant too many game-savers, not enough game-changers.

There is always another chance, and a UK European Championship in 2028 offers it, but England will have to start making the most of the cards in their favour, starting by making all this big-game experience actually pay.

Will they have a top-class, never mind international class centre-forward in 2028? After Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric at this tournament do not rule it out, but it is hard not to think we have just seen peak Harry Kane this last 12 months. Stones has surely played his last tournament.

Of course England's failings go beyond Tuchel.

He was always playing a high-stakes game, and the queue of players acknowledging post-match the team had been too passive at 1-0 hardly fought his corner.

Tuchel set himself up as the man to make the difference and delivered more of the same – good, but not quite good enough for financial but not footballing giants of the game.