Soccer
Thomas Tuchel insisted he had “no regrets” for the way England were eliminated from the World Cup semi-finals by defending champions Argentina.
England fell short of ending their 60-year wait for World Cup glory on Wednesday after they conceded twice late on in a 2-1 defeat to Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal had given the Three Lions the lead, but after going in front, Tuchel opted to sit back and try to defend England’s lead until the end.
Ezri Konsa came on to replace Gordon as England reverted to a back five, while Declan Rice and Reece James were also substituted for Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly.
However, England’s resolve was broken by a moment of individual brilliance from Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute, before Lautaro Martinez completed the comeback in the second minute of stoppage time to send Argentina into Sunday’s final against Spain.
Having won their first World Cup semi-final in 1966, England have now been eliminated in each of their last three matches at this stage (1990, 2018, 2026).
There are just two occasions of a team scoring first in the semi-final but not reaching the final of the World Cup in the 21st century – both of them are England (vs Croatia in 2018 and Argentina in 2026), though Tuchel was pleased with the performance of his players.
“You can discuss this with a million coaches, [but] I have to make a decision on the pitch,” Tuchel said.
“I analysed the match, and I did it a certain way, so that’s my responsibility.
“At the moment, no regrets. The team gave everything, and we were very, very close. We deserved to be up 1-0.
“We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match in the circumstances. The team was top; we couldn’t get over the line, but no regrets.
“I think we saw the mentality throughout the match and the strong group. We played the matches how they were; we played against strong teams in the group, travelled a lot of miles, played at altitude, we played with 10 men, we played in the heat, and we overcame every obstacle.
“We were very close. It’s not the moment to analyse the full tournament, we just went out because we lost a crucial match.”
We are completely heartbroken that our dream ends here, but so proud of this group, our staff and you – our amazing fans.
Your support in North America and back home has been nothing short of incredible. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/06KEKKUaLh
— England (@England) July 15, 2026
Gordon’s opening goal was England’s first shot on target in this match, and just their second shot overall, and Argentina piled on the pressure after falling behind.
Nico Gonzalez forced a point-blank stop from Jordan Pickford before Alexis Mac Allister’s header hit the post, and their persistence eventually told in the closing stages.
England averaged just 12% possession between Gordon’s strike and Martinez’s winner, further highlighting the turn in the tide as the Three Lions tried to defend their lead.
When asked about whether he thought about going for a second goal, Tuchel added: “Yes, but it doesn’t help if you can’t get the ball. We couldn’t get out.
“Of course, we wanted to go for the second goal, but I did not have the feeling that offensive substitutions would help.
“We stayed in our 4-4-2, but we became passive, more and more passive.
“We couldn’t win any balls, we couldn’t keep the ball, so I think it was not a structural problem; we changed nothing. But the match changed completely.
“It’s no problem, I can understand these discussions are out there, and there are millions of coaches after the game who know it better.”
Tuchel has also confirmed he has no intention of leaving his post as England coach, having extended his contract through to Euro 2028 before the tournament.
“We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros,” Tuchel said at his post-match news conference in Atlanta.
“I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
Argentina were trailing until the 85th minute against England, the latest a team has been behind but gone on to win in normal time in a World Cup semi-final.
Lionel Scaloni’s side will now face European Champions Spain in Sunday’s final, while England will take on France in the third-place play-off at Miami Stadium.
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