‘Coward’ Tuchel should face England sack for that one substitution alone | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel is getting no respite today from England fans demanding his sack after that ridiculous capitulation v Argentina.

The mails keep on coming but what now? Send your ideas to theeditor@football365.com

The thoughts of a nation

Well, I hope Spain and Argentina shitbag each other to death.

Can’t believe Tuchel thought we’d see out 20 minutes playing like that. I don’t know which defence he’s been watching in training, but it’s not ours. Phil, Manchester

Thomas Tuchel out

1-0 up. 7% possession in the last 30 mins of football.

We all saw it coming – but we aren’t paid hundreds of thousands to see it. The one man who is, couldn’t.

Get him gone.

…Tuchel should be sacked based on that one substitution alone, absolute cowardice.

You don’t park the bus against Lionel f*cking Messi with 20 mins plus stoppage to play. I don’t think England were great before that point by any stretch, but it was at least fairly even and we might have nicked a second, until he decided we should cower in our little corner and let them do what they want.

He should be embarrassed and apologizing to the nation profusely. Sam, Guernsey (F*ck me Konsa, beat the first man with a cross, it’s not that difficult)

…Well that was shit! Not a heroic battling performance like we had against Argentina 28 years ago in France but a cowardly whimpering absolute capitulation. Get Tuchel gone now! Dan, London

…I feel for the editor tonight.

To give my own 2 cents as an Irishman.

Argentina didn’t win this game. Tuchel lost it.

12% possession from going ahead to conceding the 2nd.

My 8 year old was watching her second game of the World Cup and asked me why the team in white had all their players in the box.

Football is a game now of starters and finishers but the manager didn’t trust who he brought on the plane to finish the games.

And then from conceding the 2nd. Did they have any shot?

Konsa, a centre half, collecting the ball around the Argentinian box and attempting to cross (badly) for Dan Burn, a centre half. Harry Kane, the striker picking the ball up outside the England box to spray passes to nobody.

Managers live and die by their decisions. The inquest has begun and it will be damning. Paul

…Well, that’s it for another tournament and contrary to the general expectation, no controversy, no conspiracy, no contentious VAR calls, and a ref who called it pretty much down the line.

Nope, the game was lost through one person only, Thomas Tuchel. A literal bottling and headloss all in one. It almost seems as if we scored too early in the game, despite it being the 55th minute as we went immediately into low block territory. To have 6 defenders on the pitch when Argentina were chasing the game was asinine; we were inviting attack after attack and their win seemed inevitable.

It’s unbelievable especially considering that both Romero and Martinez were on yellows. A braver coach would have sensed the momentum shifting in our direction after Gordon’s goal and instructed the team to press forward and run at the centre backs. Take off a visibly exhausted Kane, Rice and Anderson, bring on guys like Toney, Rashford, Madueke to run at the CBs. But no, it was like the spirit of Southgate swept into Tuchel.

Argentina sensed it, and it gave them the belief. We can say what we like about them (and there is a lot that can be said) but in times like this they are inevitable.

One final point about the squad selection. What was the point of taking Mainoo to not even play him? Why replace Livramento with Chalobah who’d never get game time, instead of an actual FB or WB (TAA anyone?) who would’ve been a vital asset if you’re going to play 5 at the back? Why Henderson full stop (and why was he in full kit today while we’re at it)?

I wouldn’t trust Tuchel with the Euros. I don’t know who the person is but just someone with a pair of cojones who isn’t averse to a team playing actual football.

I almost rather we went out to a conspiracy led VAR decision than how we’ve actually bowed out… Ronson, AFC

…Not wrote in for many years, hopefully that’s my key to getting printed.

We haven’t been let down by our players, we’ve been let down by our manager. That was a 50/50 all game, we went in front and it was still a 50/50. Why on f**king earth would you go to a 5atb with 30 minutes remaining. We were tactically and physically better than that Argentina team up until that point. What kind of message does that send to your players???? Where the f*** do you go when you’ve conceded????

The only pundit on BBC who got it right was Rooney, we lost that game because our manager sold our players down the river. Dez

…Shambles. Konsa for Gordon? Burn for James? O’Reilly for Rice? Going 1-0 up and then switching to five at the back (it looked like ten from where I was sitting) and giving Argentina (led by the world’s best player) the ball for 35 minutes. Pathetic. Kane and Bellingham nowhere to be seen. Throwing Burn up front to try and save the World Cup.

Tuchel was meant to be the anti-Southgate, the man to make a difference in these situations but it was like Croatia in 2018 and Italy in 2021 all over again. It’s actually worse because everyone knew deep down that Southgate didn’t quite have the X-Factor but Tuchel is a Champions League winner (but a lot of that was due to Pep’s even bigger meltdown that night). Fair play to Argentina. Spain will have to prise that cup out of Messi’s hands. Matthew

…England basically scored too soon. It gave Tuchel a conundrum – defend the lead or go on the offensive and push for more? As always with England, he went full Southgate and chose the former. With inevitable results.

After being well marshalled by Anderson with the help of others, Messi moved out to the right and no-one went with him. Pinging dangerous cross after dangerous cross into the box without challenge. And how many times did Messi play that short corner without anyone pressing him?

As a Villa fan, I remember a goal in the play off semi where Grealish drew 2-3 WBA players to him, slipped the ball inside to Hourihane, who had all the time and space in the world to smash it into the net from 20-25 yards. Argentina’s first goal was like a carbon copy.

Argentina deserved it but only because we allowed them to dominate. There was no need for it. Tuchel bottled it by going full Southgate. Kevin Villa (veteran of the entire 60 years of hurt and I can’t ever see a time when it’s Scummy gnome)

England and France both let down by managers

French fan here (living in England hence my devotion to this site).

For me, both losing semi-finalists can lay the blame for their exit to their respective managers.

As some people have said, Tuchel started the team right (good call Gordon and Rodgers) but then decided to protect the 1-0 lead with Konsa and Burn, unlike Argentina who, at 1-1, went for the win, not “protecting” anything. Scaloni 1 – Tuchel 0.

As for Deschamps, he set up the team wrong from the start. 2 midfield players and 4 forwards works against Sweden, Paraguay or Morocco but not against a Rodri-led Spain. Spain totally dominated the midfield. I thought the penalty was somewhat soft but that doesn’t hide the fact that Spain was easily controlling the midfield and Lamine Yamal had Digne’s number.

Deschamps (in hindsight) should have started Hernandez, not Digne, and started with a Rabiot/Tchouaméni/Koné midfield (keeping Barcola on the bench at the start). Then seeing that Dembélé and Olise were ineffective, sub in Cherki and Doué (or Barcola) early on in the second half.

I wanted a France v England final, not bronze match or whatever it’s called. Go Spain. Mike, Chelsea

This is how it feels to be England…

Can someone please explain to me how that was any better than Southgate England? If anything it was worse. Some great individual performances, lots of hard work and passion but the collective did not play any sort of decent football for more than fits and spurts over the whole tournament. The reason we all get excited about Djed Spence bombing up and down the wing is because we are starved of entertainment.

So we’ve essentially paid more money for Tommy T to be a Southgate regen than if we just had the waistcoated one himself.

That midfield is absolutely top notch so why reduce Rice, Bellingham and Anderson to defenders? If Rice has to go out why doesn’t have to be for a centre back so we end up as some sort of Ruben Amorim era United tribute act? And why does that tribute act extend to not playing the only other central midfielder in the bench, one capable of keeping hold of the ball and getting out of tight spaces? If you’re not picking him why not take a Wharton or a Scott? By pushing Bellingham back you’re wasting him and his ability to get England up the pitch.

On a note probably not of Tuchel’s doing why does our best striker of probably all time feel the need to drop so deep? The longer this tournament has gone on the worse Harry Kane has been. Stay in the box fella.

England won’t win anything until they are brave enough to control the ball. For once this is not limited by the players but by the choices of the managers and coaches.

Barry said at half time that our Premier League fitness was going to tell towards the end of the game. Seemed the opposite as 90 year old MLS star, Lionel Messi finally sprung to life.

I’m not surprised and I’m once again disappointed. And now I’m disappointed in myself for being disappointed.

I did think the players tried hard but, though that’s not a given, they’ve been trying hard since 2016. At some point we have to match that with guile and some sensible coaching decisions. Tuchel will be pleased to note that this issue goes back to 1970. Unfortunately for him he’s wasted what I think is the best team since.

This is how it feels when your team wins nothing at all.

Bring on the real footy in August. Ashmundo

This is England II

Thomas Tuchel has now equalled Gareth Southgate’s World Cup achievement.

No trophy.

So, for consistency, I assume the documentaries, stage plays, television love-ins and knighthood are already being arranged.

It would only be fair. Ant MUFC (a fancy waistcoat does not a manager make)

England lost it at the anthems

The semi-final was lost when the England fans/clowns booed the Argentina national anthem. Did you see how angry every Argentine player and coaching staff member were when belting out their anthem? When the Argentina fans sang, not booed, over the British dirge that the England team have to sing, the England players just looked confused which set the tone for the game.

Big mistake, enjoy the bronze medal game boo, boo, boo. Boo Radley

Less miserable about England

Bit shite that.

All that bloody hard work to get to the semis and to take the lead only to retreat and hide behind the ball. Naive tactics that worked against Norway and Mexico but wouldn’t have worked against any team with proper quality throughout.

But Argentina weren’t that good. They didn’t really have to be either because we didn’t try to suffocate them at all once we were in control of the score board. I actually thought to myself that maybe Messi looked a bit off in the first half; he was slow coming back from an offside position a few times and a couple poor touches led to him losing possession in the first half.

I will say the Enzo goal is a bit of a worldie and you can’t criticise anyone. Jude was rushing out to close him down but he somehow hit it in the only place where Bellignham’s foot and body weren’t. In truth if you’re training a defence you probably would consider the other team being forced to shoot from distance a success; it illustrates that you’re keeping it tight and forcing them into low xG opportunities. It’s just that sometimes it’s Enzo hitting a pearl unfortunately.

The second goal is less ideal. Spence hurts himself making the tackle, giving de Paul time and space on the wing and Martinez gets right between Stones and Konsa for a free header. In a way Stones is in the right place because he’s taller but the time De Paul has to pick out the cross makes it literally perfect. Maybe Stones could’ve taken two steps back and been 1 on 1 but then he’s vacating the space for someone else to run on front. Maybe it’s one of those goals you’ll always concede in modern football because the cross is so unlikely to beat both Pickford and Stones and dip to Martinez and not go over him so essentially coaches are willing to take that risk to cut off the more risky alternatives.

Good tournament and well done to the team. I personally think leaving Trent at home was an error but not one that would’ve reversed the result tonight so whatever really. Also Elliot Anderson is an absolute beast. Him and Rodri in City’s midfield is going to be depressing next season. I sense an inevitable cake walk to the title for them. Minty, LFC

…- that was Tuchel’s fault

– doesn’t mean he should be sacked – unless you’re a cuckolded shock jock on TalkSport

– we should go win the Euros

– we were beaten by, not so much a country or a football team, but by an organism made up solely of grievance

– I don’t want to see that coward set of Turkey Teeth Enzo Fernandez anywhere near Chelsea again – go be the dog you were always meant to be to be in Madrid. Yeoman of the Guard, John Bull Lane, Flagsville-cum-Cundy

Kane not to blame this time

Quite enjoyed the post-game mailbox, if only because 95% of people saw what the F365 team saw, what I saw and what everyone sensible could see which is that Tuchel threw it away.

But there’s always one and it was Badwolf, who thought the likes of James was ‘Ok’ but that Kane was ‘poor in every aspect’, playing ‘crap balls from deep’. I hate to break this to you Wolfie, but if you ranked our best 10 passes of the game 9 of them would have been from the boot of Harry Kane. He was our only creative outlet.

It never, ever ceases to amaze me how Harry Kane makes people lose all reason and talk absolute nonsense. Maybe if we had played a single good cross into the box outside of Rogers for the goal he could have done more. As an example, he played a fabulous ball out wide as our one good attack when 1-0 up, and was coming into the box completely unmarked and rice took some dreadful side footed neither a cross or shot and the chance was gone.

I feel sorry for Rice because he obviously wasn’t fit but he was one of many who just didn’t deliver the quality that was needed. But we might still have got away with it but for the cowardice of Tuchel. Phil, London

Still blaming Kane…

Another wonderful tournament performance from Casper the Friendly Striker tonight. Looking forward to F365 snootily explaining this one away Neil Raines

FIFA want an Argentina win

Let’s move tactics to one side for a minute, and find some common ground. The benefits Argentina have had this tournament is nothing short of shocking. The benefits they get as they field Messi, one of worlds most lucrative players marketing wise, are clear to see; yellow cards become fouls. Fouls become play on. This is the same FIFA who unbanned Ronaldo before the tournament for…. reasons. Lads if you’re gonna be corrupt at least be a little but subtle about it, lest you disenfranchise an entire generation and have them end up becoming Tower Hamlets FC Ultras. Sam, LFC, Leeds

Revisiting a mail from 2004

This mail is from so long ago that I can’t even remember if I wrote it….. but it seems like an appropriate time to revisit it. Feel free to substitute player names and nations for their 2026 equivalents.

Guus Hiddink warned us after the Japorea exit that our tactics were betraying everything that was admired and feared in the English game. Lions cannot be sent out to pasture like lambs in their own half for an entire game. And yet the English midfield yet again were set up not to mark their territory beyond the half-way line.

Siege mentality. The Sven Goran ‘Inferior England’ Ericksson strategy. You tell everyone that you are as good as any team but when you play a decent side you actually send the team onto the pitch in fear of playing. What was it at one point? 61% – 39% possession in favour of Portugal. That’s not defending, that’s Dunkirk.

We got away with it against Argentina (and to an extent, Sweden) two years ago, but not against Brazil, France and now Portugal. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde ‘once may be regarded as misfortune, twice looks like carelessness’. Well after three times enough is enough.

When Owen’s goal went in, amid spraying beer in an overcrowded sports bar (with one of those d*@~head DJ’s) and delirious mates, I looked around to see a guy calmly staring at the screen. He knew. We should all have known; It was the worst thing that could have happened.