Marc Guehi speaks openly about Thomas Tuchel’s strategies in a very honest interview after the loss to Argentina.
England centre-back Marc Guehi seemed to question Thomas Tuchel’s tactics after the Three Lions’ 2-1 loss to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
England took the lead thanks to Anthony Gordon’s goal at 55 minutes, but Tuchel’s team then sat back and let Argentina—and especially Lionel Messi—control much of the second half.
At 85 minutes, Messi set up Enzo Fernández, who scored a beautiful goal past Jordan Pickford to equalize. Then, heartbreak came in stoppage time when Messi’s cross was headed in by Lautaro Martínez, sending Argentina to the final against Spain on July 19, while England heads to Miami for the bronze medal match against France on July 18.
After the game, many experts criticized Tuchel for playing too cautiously after taking the lead and questioned his substitutions, like bringing Ezri Konsa on for Gordon, Dan Burn for Reece James, and Nico O’Reilly for Declan Rice.
Tuchel did put on Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney when England fell behind, but they didn’t make much difference.
On the BBC, former England goalkeeper Joe Hart said Tuchel’s tactics showed he “didn’t believe” in the team. Wayne Rooney added that the team “cracked” under pressure.
“We’ve crumbled,” Rooney said.
“It started with the manager and the choices he made. It was too passive. Against the world champions, that won’t work. This was the biggest test, and we failed it. I felt the changes we made at 1-0 meant that if Argentina scored, we wouldn’t reach extra time.”
Even some players thought a different approach was needed after going ahead. Captain Harry Kane admitted, “Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try to hold on, which at this level isn’t enough. I’m really gutted.”
Guehi also spoke out, saying, “We should have kept going. After scoring, it felt like the plan was to sit back and defend.”
When asked if this group could finally win a trophy for England, the Manchester City defender replied honestly, “I don’t know. It’s hard to think about the future right now. At the moment, it’s just disappointment.”
Despite the loss, the FA has shown strong support for Tuchel, wanting him to stay as manager at least until Euro 2028.
“It’s heartbreaking to come so close,” FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said.
“The players and Thomas gave everything today, and everyone involved worked incredibly hard during the tournament. I want to thank them all and our amazing fans in the USA and at home. We felt your support every step of the way, and we’re all so disappointed not to go further.”