Hidden Criticism of Tuchel? Kane Speaks Plainly After World Cup Exit | OneFootball

Harry Kane spoke at length about England’s 1-2 loss to Argentina following their bitter World Cup exit. The Bayern star described the course of the game with striking clarity—and his comments could certainly be interpreted as criticism of national team coach Thomas Tuchel’s game plan.

For a long time, England seemed on course for the final. After Anthony Gordon’s opening goal, the Three Lions initially controlled the game, before Argentina came back in the closing stages and turned the match around with two late goals.

For Harry Kane, the turning point was primarily that England became too passive after taking a 1-0 lead.

Kane sees a lack of pressing as the key

“It was really good for 60 minutes. We scored the goal and deserved to take the lead,” the captain explained after the game.

After that, however, his team lost control. “We didn’t manage to put pressure on the opponent early enough. That allowed them to build more and more momentum and launch more and more attacks.”

Kane is describing precisely the phase in which England kept falling back further and further, allowing Argentina to increasingly take control of the game.

“20 minutes is a damn long time”

Photo: IMAGO

Kane’s assessment of how the team handled the lead was particularly noteworthy. “It’s perfectly normal to try to hold onto a 1-0 lead until the end. But there were still a good 20 minutes left, plus stoppage time. That’s a damn long time.”

The Bayern striker left open whether he was indirectly criticizing Thomas Tuchel’s tactical approach. His analysis, however, aligns with the assessment of numerous experts who accused England of being too passive after taking the lead.

Kane doesn’t see this as a one-off problem. “We’ll have to figure out how we can improve in situations like this. That’s probably the missing piece that’s been eluding us for the last four or five tournaments.”

With the 1-2 loss to Argentina, England missed out on reaching the World Cup final for the first time since 1966. For Kane, the dream of winning his first major title with the Three Lions remains unfulfilled for now.