England manager Tuchel substituted Reece James and Dan Byrne, Declan Rice and defender Nico O’Reilly in the 82nd minute.
Published July 15, 2026
With time running out in the World Cup semi-finals, England desperately wanted to protect their lead, but manager Thomas Tuchel changed his squad and strategy to build a wall in front of the goal.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi easily knocked him down.
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England led 1-0 late in the second half, but Messi assisted on goals by Enzo Fernandes in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of added time to give Argentina a 2-1 victory on Wednesday and book a place in the World Cup final against Spain.
Tuchel’s tactical choices in the biggest clash between football’s biggest rivals will be scrutinized and criticized for years to come. England missed out on a chance to reach the World Cup final for the first time since 1966.
“They won everything with headers. They crossed a lot. So we closed the gaps inside and went to a back five to be strong in the air,” Tuchel said.
“Right after the goal, we didn’t have any substitutes, so we conceded too many crosses and too many chances. So we tried to help,” Tuchel said.
“But of course, the responsibility lies with the coach. And… if it doesn’t work out, it’s easy to say it was wrong.”
Tuchel’s chess moves could not contain Messi, Argentina’s attacking maestro.
According to Opta news agency, England’s defeat marks only the second time this century that a team that scored the first goal in a World Cup semi-final match did not advance to the final. The opponent team was also England vs Croatia in 2018.
On Wednesday, England took the lead with Anthony Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute. However, Argentina quickly changed the game and put intense pressure on England’s defense.
In order to protect their lead, England moved closer and closer to their own goal, hoping to build the kind of fortress they had in defeating Mexico in the round of 16 despite being down to 10 men.
Tuchel substituted defenders Reece James and Dan Byrne in the 82nd minute, as well as midfielder Declan Rice and defender Nico O’Reilly.
England striker Harry Kane said: “We played well for the majority of the game. Once we were 1-0 up, we just tried to hang on. At this level, it’s not enough.”
“It’s tough, it’s tough, because we’ve worked so hard to get here.”
Fernandes scored just three minutes after England’s substitution, firing an accurate right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area. Messi set up the play with a pass to the feet of a teammate, but England’s defenders were unable to contain him and he curled a shot past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Argentina continued to attack and England’s walls continued to crumble. The defending champions hit the crossbar and another header went over the goal mouth, but Martínez eventually scored with a powerful header from close range when England’s defense lost him to Messi’s cross.
“They were tired,” Martinez said. “They kept pressing for 60 minutes and ran out of steam. They were backing away after scoring. That allowed us to move the ball more calmly and stretch the pitch.”
