Thomas Tuchel has offered an unwavering defence of his in-game decisions following England's painful 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Argentina on Wednesday, July 15.
In what was arguably England's most significant fixture since the 1966 World Cup final, Tuchel's men went toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi's Argentina — and for a time, it looked like the Three Lions would prevail.
Anthony Gordon fired England ahead in the 55th minute, but the momentum swung dramatically. After Tuchel introduced several defensive substitutions, Argentina seized control. Enzo Fernandez levelled the score with a stunning long-range strike, and just seven minutes later, Lautaro Martinez completed the comeback to send Argentina through.
Facing the media after the match, Tuchel mounted a resolute defence of his approach. "We were close but couldn't keep the level up after we scored," the England boss said.
Addressing the scrutiny around his substitutions, Tuchel explained: "Yeah I did also offensive substitutions in the last games. We tried to help the players. We conceded straight away. We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open, they won every header and kept crossing and crossing."
He elaborated further on the reasoning behind the shift to a back five: "We went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air because straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. We tried to help but of course the responsibility is on the coach. If it doesn't go well, it's easy to say it was wrong."
Tuchel also revealed that he felt attacking changes would not have solved the deeper issue England were facing. "It doesn't help if you don't have the ball. We couldn't get out. We wanted to go for the second goal but I had not the feeling that offensive substitutions would help," he said.
"We stayed in our 4-4-2 but became more and more passive, we couldn't win any balls or keep the ball. It was not a structural problem. We changed nothing after the goal, but the match changed completely."
Despite the criticism, Tuchel remained composed and took full ownership. "But it's no problem, I can understand these discussions. You can discuss this with a million coaches. I have to make a decision on the pitch. I take the responsibility. No regrets in the moment. The team gave everything and we were very, very close."
The German coach was also keen to praise his players' overall performance. "We deserved to be 1-0 up, we played one of our better matches, maybe the best match in the circumstances. The team was top. We couldn't bring it over the line. No, in the moment, no regrets."