HOW on earth did England manage to blow it in last night’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina?
To go 1-0 up, to be within touching distance of a mouthwatering final against in New York on Sunday, .
England suffered a devastating World Cup exit after taking the lead against Argentina Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Thomas Tuchel’s bizarre tactical decisions were at the centre of the collapse Credit: Getty
If you’ve ever thought tactics don’t really matter, you only need to look at the Three Lions’ second-half collapse.
If we lose, we lose our way. Those were the words of when he took the job.
He even criticised ‘s side for being more scared of dropping out of than excited to win it.
Tuchel was hired to win, to be the master of knockout football, and now he will rightly face criticism. Even Southgate never parked the bus with six defenders.
SunSport’s tactics guru Dean Scoggins reveals the three ways it all went horribly wrong for .
TOMMY TACTICS
Let’s look at the first major blunder, and it lands squarely at the feet of the manager.
If you look at the 62nd minute – a massive chunk of the game still to play – England are in a 6-2-2 formation.
They dropped so deep they invited wave after wave of Argentine pressure.
England dropped into an extremely defensive structure after taking the lead
And this started BEFORE he made the substitutions. He had a chance to change things up and put us back on the front foot, but he didn’t.
His substitutions were defensive in the extreme. off for , for which took away the midfield presence.
England subsequently had just 12 PER CENT possession between going 1-0 up and ‘s winner.
When Rice came off he had to put someone in midfield to make up for it. He hasn’t played all tournament.
There was no or , until the very end, to run in behind and provide a counter threat. could have been an option when Harry Kane looked dead on his feet.
And speaking of Kane, in England’s average position map he was DEEPER than Rice. That’s remarkable.
Tuchel has been called Tommy Tactics before for his knockout nous, but with tactics like that, he should be nowhere near knockout football.
IT ALL GOT MESSI
Let’s move on to the greatest player on the planet – .
Lionel Messi was given too much space outside England’s compact defensive lines
In the first half, England dealt with him really well.
had a magnificent first 45, with a combination of him, Rice and creating a narrow block to stop the legendary Argentine receiving the ball to feet.
Defenders would jump out to him but not follow him, which forces him back into the midfield melee where he does not want to be.
The switch in approach later is clearly reflected in the stats, Messi had just 36 touches in the first half, but 75 in the second.
He realised England had become completely obsessed with packing the edge of the box in a tight triangle, so he drifted out wide to find unoccupied space, pinning England back into their own box.
Messi used the wide space to pick out Enzo Fernandez on the edge of the box, who had all the time in the world to pick out his equaliser.
With Rice off the pitch, nobody stepped out to close him down in time. Bellingham tried his best, but Fernandez had more than enough space to unleash a great strike – though Jordan Pickford should have done better.
For the second the tactical outlook was even worse. England were almost in a back seven by now.
Nobody ventured far enough out to close down Enzo Fernandez
has had a great game, he was blocking everything. But it’s O’Reilly this time who is furthest left and needs to get across to stop the ball. And the cross is absolutely perfect.
It drops into an ideal spot for Lautaro Martinez to meet it between the back post defenders – and at that stage of the game it’s an absolute dagger.
ANT AND DECK
Despite throwing their lead away, England did have a perfect plan for nabbing goal that gave it to them in the first place.
The opener was a beautiful, fluid move capped off by a great finish from Gordon.
CLICK ON PIC FOR STAR’S PROFILE
The offensive blueprint worked. Bellingham and dropped deep into the pockets, drawing out the Argentine centre-backs and leaving massive gaps out wide.
The plan was to get and Gordon flying down the outside.
Kane comes into that position, picks up the ball and almost manages to play Rogers in down the wing.
Rice is in the space behind to mop up after Nicolas Tagliafico’s botched clearance, gives Rogers the ball back, who then fires in an absolutely beautiful cross for Gordon to meet.
It should have been the moment we were all talking about today. But we’re out of the World Cup because Tuchel has got his tactics hopelessly wrong in the second half.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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