Thomas Tuchel says he is “100 per cent” committed to continuing his role as England boss into the next European Championships in two years, and he has hit back at critics who have questioned his tactics, saying instead it is a problem with English football’s “DNA”.
Tuchel has been heavily criticised in the aftermath of the semi-final loss in Atlanta, accused of negative tactics which turned the game in Argentina’s favour, and turned a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 defeat.
But now, the head coach has chimed back, saying that it wasn’t his formation that was wrong in Atlanta; the problem instead is a weakness in the English football “DNA” which means the players struggle to keep possession when under pressure.
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Jamie O’Hara called for Thomas Tuchel to be sacked after his substitutions cost England a potential place in the World Cup final.
“In this moment my feeling was no structure in the world could have helped us,” Tuchel said.
“Because actually we were too passive and we were not physical enough, we didn’t stop runners arriving in our box and the deliveries were wrong too.
“I haven’t seen the data yet, but I think just right after the goal the momentum swings completely and ball possession drops dramatically. We couldn’t find any duels anymore; that’s why we dropped deeper and deeper. It was never the plan, but it happened.
“(We) couldn’t stop the runners from the second line, the midfielders, through our gaps, and the deliveries were on the highest level. You need to get back on the ball; otherwise you cannot break the pressure, and you cannot get the momentum back.
“I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball.”
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Rob Dorsett reports from Atlanta as England are knocked out of the World Cup by Argentina, despite taking a second-half lead in the semi-final.
One of England’s best players in tight spaces is Kobbie Mainoo, who hasn’t played a single minute at this tournament. And Tuchel decided to leave arguably England’s most technically gifted footballer, Phil Foden, out of his World Cup squad altogether.
Tuchel is adamant that switching to a back five with more than 30 minutes still to play when England were a goal up was not a negative step. Seventeen minutes after Anthony Gordon’s goal, he was substituted for Ezri Konsa. Tuchel says that should have helped his players deal with the increased threat he was seeing from Argentina.
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England boss Thomas Tuchel says he will remain in his job until the Euro 2028 tournament, where his contract is set to expire.
“We just get too passive within our structure and try to help. Not to help in a back five, to become more passive, but actually to be more active, to be quicker out to the wingers, to not open up the gaps in between the back four. We encourage everyone to step out and to be more active within the structure, but we just struggle.”
England have clocked up more air miles than any other team at the World Cup, covering 14,365 miles in five weeks. Tuchel says that, together with the extreme conditions at the tournament, also took its toll on the players.
“We struggled a bit physically as well, I think, over the whole tournament, playing in the heat, playing at an altitude, playing with a man down and so on. It cost us in the end a lot.”
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Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol questions Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions as England lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
Nevertheless, Tuchel says he has seen enough from the players to believe that they can still win a major tournament whilst he is in charge. He says his appetite for the job has not diminished.
“One hundred per cent, and there’s still enough to improve, still enough to improve and I’m more than happy to do that.
“I still think we can impose ourselves more on the ball, I still think we can still show how good football players we are. I think it’s still in us because I see it in training in every camp and here also in the World Cup and I still feel there is an extra level that we need to conquer and we need to step up on the next level and then to get the big prize.”
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