Following England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup, former goalkeeper Joe Hart has offered a stinging critique of manager Thomas Tuchel. England, who had enjoyed an unbeaten run in the tournament leading up to the match, saw their hopes of reaching the final dashed in Atlanta after surrendering a one-goal lead late in the game.
Anthony Gordon had initially put the Three Lions ahead in the 55th minute, and the team held that advantage past the 80-minute mark. However, Argentina struck twice in the closing stages to secure the win. Speaking to the BBC, Hart compared Tuchel’s tactical adjustments to the strategies employed by his predecessor, Gareth Southgate, which had previously drawn heavy criticism.
Hart expressed his dissatisfaction with the manager's decision to shift to a defensive setup, stating, "Gareth Southgate took a lot of criticism for the big moments with England, when they had the lead in big games and shutting up shop. I don't see that anything has changed in that big moment out there." He further added, "For as much praise as we have given Thomas Tuchel, for him to change it as soon as he did, that is him saying he didn't believe in his team, that he didn't think they could land any more punches on Argentina."
The criticism stems from Tuchel’s decision to remove goalscorer Anthony Gordon in the 72nd minute, replacing him with center-half Ezri Konsa. Shortly after, the manager introduced two additional defenders to shift the team to a back-five formation. Defending his tactical choices, Tuchel explained that the move was necessary to manage the pressure, noting that England were struggling to deal with aerial threats and open spaces.
"I did also offensive substitutions in the last games, we just tried to help the players," Tuchel told the BBC. "We conceded straight away and we decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open. They won every header, they kept crossing and crossing so we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air." Tuchel acknowledged the weight of the result, adding that as the coach, he takes responsibility for the outcome.
England has not reached a FIFA World Cup final since their tournament victory in 1966, with their most recent semi-final appearances occurring in 2018 and 2026.
