England dressing room revelation as Tuchel blames team ‘DNA’

England players were reportedly shocked by Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup tactics in their loss to Argentina, which has led to an avalanche of criticism levelled at the coach.

With England up 1-0 after Anthony Gordon’s goal, Tuchel brought on three defenders, before Argentina scored twice late to advance to final 2-1.

Tuchel said he had “no regrets” and that England’s “DNA” was also the problem when it came to ball control, with experts pointing to England’s 12 per cent of possession between Gordon’s opening goal and Enzo Fernandez equalising for Argentina.

However, The Telegraph reports England players were left surprised by Tuchel taking a defensive approach.

It’s understood Tuchel’s move to bring on Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney four minutes after Argentina went ahead also raised eyebrows, along with the decision to leave Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and Noni Madueke on the bench.

One non-playing source close to the England camp told the Telegraph:

“Tuchel was brought in for his knockout tournament tactics and he got it wrong.” Another added: “Nobody could understand it.”

It’s said Tuchel has the Football Association’s support but he will undergo a review following the exit as usual.

The German will argue that he did not cost England a chance of qualifying for the final through negativity and will also highlight the physical impact of the tournament on his squad.

“I think ball possession plays a crucial role,” said Tuchel. “It’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish DNA or Argentinian or Brazilian DNA. To take the ball, control the game and the ball which is also a big problem.

“We struggled physically as well, through the whole touranment playing in the heat, playing in the altitude, playing with a man down and so on. It cost us a lot in the end. We gave everything but it was not enough.

“We got too passive within our structure. I tried to help, not to become more passive with a back five in our structure but to be more active, to be quicker out to the wingers, not to open up the gaps between the back four. I think in this moment my feeling is that no structure in the world could have helped us because we were too passive.”

The England manager, whose contract runs through to Euro 2028, is determined to transfer what he sees on the training pitches to England facing elite opposition at major tournaments starting with the European Championship as co-hosts in two years.

When asked if he wants to be the coach to take the team forward to the Euros, Tuchel said: “Yes, 100 per cent. There is still enough to improve, and I am more than happy to do that.

“I loved every day [of the World Cup]. I said after the Norway game that I see a disconnect from what I see in training on a football level and within the games I think we can impose ourselves more on the ball.

“I still think we can show how good football players we are. I think that is still in us, as I see it in training and in every camp. And here also at the World Cup. I still feel there is an extra level that we need to conquer and need to step up to the next level to get the big prize.”

Click here to read article