Thomas Tuchel has faced waves of scrutiny for the tactical choices he deployed during the encounter. Shortly after Anthony Gordon gave the Three Lions the advantage early into the second-half, it appeared to be a case of park the bus from the German head coach. After sitting deep and inviting pressure, as well as stripping the side of some of it’s most dangerous attacking outputs in favour of defensive players, the writing was on the wall for England.
Enzo Fernandez struck gold with five minutes left to play, before Lautaro Martinez scored the winner for his nation in stoppage time to stamp Argentina’s place in this weekend’s final against Spain. England’s elimination once again confirmed that no nation has ever lifted football’s greatest prize under a foreign coach.
Luis de la Fuente and Lionel Scaloni will now bid to lead their respective sides to glory on Sunday, as the champions of Europe and South America meet in the final for the very first time. Responding to a post highlighting that World Cup-winning managers had always been homegrown, Owen weighed in: “There should be no such thing as foreign coaches in international football.”
While Owen’s reservations about Tuchel may be rooted in principle, the tactician could find his position under the microscope following England’s defensive display against Argentina. Owen’s former team-mate Robbie Fowler also appeared to cast doubt on Tuchel’s abilities.
“A great coach/manager isn’t someone who relies on the bravery of defenders throwing themselves in front of shots/crosses or the luck of hanging on with X amount of defenders on the pitch,” he said. Chris Sutton also doubts whether Tuchel can be relied upon to lead the side forwards.
He explained: “It’s all on the coach where I’m concerned. He made the changes. He was negative, so the question which I’m going to ask is how can you trust Thomas Tuchel to take this team forward?”
Yet for now, Tuchel, whose contract runs until after Euro 2028, continues to enjoy the backing of the FA and chief executive Mark Bullingham. Similarly, the England manager has no plans to resign.
“First of all, the World Cup is not over,” Tuchel responded when questioned about his future, adding: “There is still a match to play, that we are not looking forward to so much to but there is still a match to play.
“Of course then we keep on going. I have a contract until the home Euros and I’m looking forward to that even like now it is difficult to look that far ahead.”
Bullingham also released a statement following England’s elimination, saying: “It is heart-breaking to be so close. The players and Thomas gave it everything today and the squad, coaches and staff could not have worked harder during the tournament.
“I would like to thank them all – and also give my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful fans here in the USA and at home. We felt your support every step of the way and we are all so disappointed not to go further.”