Tuchel's subs get torn apart by Rooney and Shearer after England's World Cup exit

[BankHolidayBlues]

England's World Cup dream is over after a 2-1 semifinal defeat to Argentina in Atlanta, and the post match inquest is landing squarely on Thomas Tuchel's substitutions. Anthony Gordon put England ahead ten minutes into the second half, but Tuchel soon withdrew him, bringing on defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly inside the final 20 minutes and shifting to a back five. The move backfired badly, Enzo Fernandez equalised in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez struck a stoppage time winner to send Argentina through to Sunday's final

Wayne Rooney was blunt about the psychological impact of those changes, saying the moment Tuchel started making them, the players on the pitch would have immediately thought oh no and known exactly what was coming. He pointed out England had no outlets once they sat back, everything just got kicked long, Argentina picked it up and came again, calling it impossible to hold on that way. Alan Shearer agreed on air in real time, noting England ended up with six defenders on the pitch and had played his hand far too early, contrasting it with the tighter, more limited opposition England had faced in previous rounds against Mexico and Norway

The numbers back up the eye test, England had just 12 percent of possession in the period between their goal and Argentina's equaliser, and finished the match with only five shots, their lowest total of the entire tournament. Both former captains agreed Argentina were ultimately the better side on the day, with Shearer specifically praising how the world champions didn't panic and stuck to their game plan even after going behind

The defeat ends England's hopes of reaching a first World Cup final since 1966, and inevitably draws comparisons to the defensive collapse against Italy at the Euro 2020 final under Gareth Southgate. Tuchel remains contracted through the home Euros in two years, but his tactical management of a lead against genuinely top level opposition is now the story dominating the post mortem rather than the campaign's earlier knockout wins

Wayne Rooney Alan Shearer England Reaction World Cup Semifinal Argentina Defeat Substituteswww.espn.co.uk

[Neon Grace]

Rooney's point about the substitutions themselves being a psychological signal to the players is such an underrated angle, sometimes the message a change sends matters as much as the tactical logic behind it