England’s wait for a men’s World Cup final stretching back to 1966 goes on after a devastating semi-final defeat to Argentina, sealed by Lautaro Martinez’s injury-time header. Thomas Tuchel’s side had led through Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal and were five minutes from normal time away from reaching the final when Argentina struck twice to end their hopes.
Enzo Fernandez levelled in the 85th minute before Martinez’s late header completed the turnaround, leaving a stunned England dressing room and a dejected Jude Bellingham among those left to reflect on another painful near-miss. The manner of the collapse drew immediate criticism of Tuchel’s decision-making, with Argentina — orchestrated by Lionel Messi — producing wave after wave of attacks as England buckled.
Tuchel was appointed by the Football Association specifically to succeed where Gareth Southgate could not, tasked with ending England’s long wait for a second World Cup and putting, in his own words, “a second star on the shirt”. Southgate had been criticised for caution in losing two successive Euros finals to Italy and Spain, as well as a 2018 World Cup semi-final to Croatia. The expectation was that Tuchel would drive England over the line where his predecessor had retreated.
Instead, Tuchel now faces the same scrutiny, with his in-game decisions singled out as the catalyst for Argentina’s comeback. Like Southgate before him, he has still not guided England to victory against a side they were not strongly favoured to beat.
A semi-final exit can only be viewed as falling short of the FA’s brief when they made what was described as a quick-fix appointment after Euro 2024. Tuchel was brought in as a proven winner with a singular mission, and anything short of the World Cup itself must rank, in the harshest terms, as a failure against those expectations.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
