Tuchel laments England's collapse as Argentina reaches World Cup final

Argentina rallied from a goal down in Atlanta to win 2-1 and reach the World Cup final. Thomas Tuchel said England “gave everything” and called it “one of our better matches, maybe the best match in the circumstances,” but England collapsed after Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute opener.

England looked set up to protect that lead after Gordon finished in the second half, yet Tuchel said the team became “too passive” once ahead. Argentina punished that caution with more decisive play in the closing minutes, equalizing through Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martínez struck in the second minute of stoppage time to complete the turnaround. Tuchel said the response from the reigning world champions mattered as much as England’s lapse, and he rejected any talk of an English “curse,” framing the loss as a football problem rather than a historical one.

Tuchel said his late switch to a line of five defenders was meant to close the spaces and cut out the crosses building up around England’s box. He said he had no “regrets” and took responsibility for the decisions, even as the move drew scrutiny after Argentina kept finding chances and England conceded too much pressure in the final phase. Harry Kane echoed that concern, saying that trying simply to hold on after going 1-0 up “is just not enough” at this level.

The result sent Argentina, the defending world champion, into Sunday’s final against Spain in New Jersey, while England will face France in the third-place match on Saturday in Miami Gardens. This was only the second time this century that the side scoring first in a World Cup semifinal failed to reach the final, after England’s own semifinal loss to Croatia in 2018. Tuchel’s future remains tied to the job, with his contract running until after Euro 2028.