Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen hammer Tuchel – ‘The decisions cost us’
England wasted a 1-0 lead and World Cup dream – now Thomas Tuchel is being reviewed by two English legends.
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No point in “surfing” into a 1 – 0 lead when playing against Lionel Messi
It was supposed to be England’s big night. The 60-year finals drought was finally coming to an end. Instead, Atlanta witnessed another English heartbreak as Argentina turned 0-1 into 2-1 and sent the Three Lions out of the World Cup semi-finals.
And when the disappointment is greatest, it is always easiest to point to the coach. So do both Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen – two of England’s greatest attacking players of all time.
Gordon gave the lead – then came the shock
Anthony Gordon, the former Everton winger, sent England into the lead with a goal midway through the second half. The cheers were enormous. The dream was alive.
But then something happened.
In the 72nd minute, Gordon was substituted. In came Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa. Ten minutes later, two new defensive substitutions followed: Nico O’Reilly from Manchester City and Newcastle giant Dan Burn. Tuchel buried his team – and invited Argentina to attack.
It would be expensive. First, Enzo Fernandez equalized, then Lautaro Martinez scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute.
Rooney: “You can’t do that”
A devastated Wayne Rooney did not hold back in the interview with BBC One:
“You can’t go up to the finish line and then just give up. Give the ball away, give away any attempt to score second. When the pressure is on Argentina, you have to go for more, not less.
“When you lead 1-0 and look at the changes the manager makes, you lose faith. There are only a certain number of times you can get away with digging in. The players start to think: “Should we just sit and hope?”
Rooney continued:
“We ended up in a fantastic position, but we didn’t know what to do with it. We withdrew. Let them come to us. They created chances, and in the end we broke down. I’m devastated.
“The fans have spent a lot of money to be here. I expected more. These are Argentina – world champions. We knew that margins would decide. Our changes didn’t help us. Sometimes you need luck in such tournaments. Today we didn’t have it.
“For me, Thomas Tuchel made the decision. And when you make that decision, it’s a game of chance. The chance he took was to go for five full-backs – which allowed Argentina to control the game. We have to be honest: his decisions cost us tonight.
The statistics hit hard
After Gordon’s opening goal until Martinez’s winning goal in injury time, England had only 12% possession. Twelve percent.
In a World Cup semi-final.
Owen: “Spain showed courage – we showed fear”
Michael Owen, who shared the attacking space with Rooney during his time in the national team, went straight to social media to deliver his verdict:
“Look at Spain last night, when they led 1-0. It’s courage. That is bravery. So look at England when we were leading 1-0. What’s the difference?
“We are better than Argentina – I have no doubt about that. But we deserved to lose. In fact, it could just as easily have been 4-1.
“To put in three defenders when you’re leading 1-0 – what signal does that send? I already wrote it in my column in the Daily Mail after the Mexico game: Until we understand that true courage is about holding the ball under pressure, not kicking it 40 meters into the air, this will always be the end.
“Our guys are real. They can hold their heads high. They are constantly reaching the final stages. But I am convinced that with a little more tactical courage we would have won the European Championship final against Italy – and now be in a World Cup final.
The road ahead: Spain awaits
Argentina will face Spain in the final on Sunday – after the Spaniards delivered a footballing masterclass against France and won 2-0.
For England, another summer of “what if” and “why not” awaits. And for Thomas Tuchel, a reckoning with the past awaits – and with two of the country’s greatest football profiles.
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