Just last year, Thomas Tuchel criticised England and Gareth Southgate for being afraid of elimination from Euro 2024.
Now, that stance has majorly come back to bite the Three Lions boss, as his own side exited the World Cup with a whimper.
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Tuchel had taken issue with Southgate’s negative tactics and the team’s identity when reviewing their campaign at the Euros.
Soon after his appointment, in March 2025, he was asked by ITV: “Yes or no, did England have a clear playing style last summer?”
To which the German simply replied: “Not last summer, no.”
And after being asked to explain what was missing, he continued: “The identity, the clarity, the rhythm, the repetition of patterns, the freedom of the players, the expression, the hunger.
“They were more afraid to drop out of the tournament, in my observation, than having the excitement and hunger to win it.”
But just over a year later, Tuchel’s comments have backfired, with England seemingly ditching their hunger to win.
The Three Lions manager has been slammed, with some saying he should be sacked for his negative approach to the heartbreaking 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina on Wednesday night.
After Anthony Gordon gave his nation the lead, Tuchel soon brought on Ezri Konsa, with England sitting back to defend.
He then went on to bring on Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly, as his side dropped deeper and deeper, looking to see their lead out.
But it didn’t go as planned, as Argentina would go on to pile an incredible amount of pressure on England, who eventually caved in the 85th minute, with Enzo Fernandez smashing home.
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Lautaro Martinez then headed in in stoppage time to complete a late turnaround and sink the Three Lions’ hopes and dreams.
Shockingly, in the time between Gordon’s opener and Martinez’s winner, Tuchel’s men had just 12 per cent possession.
That indicated just how much they sat back to defend for their lives in the final stages of the semi-final, which was something unexpected from Tuchel considering his past words on Southgate.
‘Nonsensical’ approach
As part of a scathing assessment of Tuchel’s tactics, eSPORTY’s Paul Hawksbee reminded listeners of his 2025 comments.
He said on Hawksbee and Jacobs on Thursday: “What he said in March about Gareth Southgate, semi-trashing the legacy of the guy who got us far in tournaments…
“Did we have the ‘excitement and hunger’ to win it?
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“It looks like he froze and decided to do what we did against Mexico, which was nonsensical against a team like Argentina.”
He added: “What was he trying to do? That’s what happens when you play like a League One team that has gone 1-0 up in the FA Cup against Man United.
“You look at the substitutions and the players must think: ‘Is that it, gaffer? Is that our ambition? To park on the edge of the box’.”
Tuchel defended his decisions when speaking post-match, saying: “If it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say I was wrong.”
But that will leave fans frustrated after seeing the manager appear to go against the very thing he didn’t want to see England do.
The FA are understood to currently have no plans to sack Tuchel, amid calls for Pep Guardiola or Eddie Howe to be approached.
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