The Football Association have no intention of sackingĀ Thomas TuchelĀ despiteĀ England’sĀ World CupĀ agony at the hands ofĀ Argentina. With just five minutes of normal time to play at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Three Lions led 1-0 through Anthony Gordon’s goal and were on the cusp of a first World Cup final since 1966. But Enzo Fernandez scored a long-distance equaliser in the 85th minute beforeĀ Lautaro Martinez headed in the winnerĀ two minutes into stoppage time to sparkĀ wild Argentine celebrations.
It meant a sour end to what had been a memorable World Cup for England, who have now lost their last three semi-finals since winning the tournament 60 years ago. But the FA do not plan to axe Tuchel, who only signed a two-year contract extension in February this year. That means he is committed to managing England at the 2028 European Championship, which will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
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Tuchel still has the FA’s full support and is free to continue in the role should he wish to do so. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham retains full belief in the formerĀ ChelseaĀ manager and said in Atlanta: “It is heartbreaking 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.”
While Tuchel said after England’s 2-1 loss to reigning world champions Argentina: “We keep on going for contract until the home Euros, and I’m looking forward to that. Even like now, it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
Asked if he got his tactics wrong, the German head coach added: “No, I believe that’s just the nature of the game. As soon as you lose, you get criticised. It’s just what it is. No one knows what would have happened if we made different decisions.
“So it makes no sense to engage in that and lose my head. I’m responsible for them. I took them, so I take the criticism.”
Wayne Rooney was criticial of Tuchel’s decision-making on theĀ BBCĀ and says his substitutions “cost” England as they wilted under the pressure against Argentina. The 52-year-old said to the Beeb: “We’re disappointed. We were so close.
“We got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances. We could not turn the ball possession around and just conceded so, so many crosses and chances and shots. We were close but couldn’t keep the level up after we scored.
Harry Kane could not captain England to the World Cup finalĀ (Image: Getty)
“I have to make a decision on the pitch. I take the responsibility. No regrets in the moment. The team gave everything and we were very, very close. The team was top. We couldn’t bring it over the line. No, in the moment, no regrets.”
England’s second-highest goalscorer of all time, Rooney, said: “We got ourselves in such a good position, and then we didn’t know what to do. We sat back, we allowed them to come onto us. They were creating a number of chances, then we cracked. Really disappointed.
“I expected more in this game. Once we got the first goal, we didn’t look to go for the second goal. For the players, and for me, Thomas Tuchel made the decision, and when you make the decision, it is a gamble.
“The gamble he made was to go with five at the back, which allowed them to dictate the game. The decisions Thomas Tuchel made, we have to be honest, have cost us tonight.”
While captainĀ Harry KaneĀ reflected to the BBC: “We had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games. Another semi-final. We talk about knocking on the door. We’re close. We just need to find, yeah, that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.
“You know, these tournaments take it out of you so much effort and pressure and mentality – and we’ve shown a lot of that throughout the whole six or seven weeks weāve been together. We’re just missing that final piece.”