U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on England’s dramatic World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, noting that manager Thomas Tuchel made a costly tactical mistake by abandoning attack and asking his best players to defend after taking the lead.
Trump’s assessment has found support from several former England players, pundits, and the match statistics, which paint a picture of a team that surrendered possession, territory, and attacking intent before conceding twice late on to crash out of the tournament.
England were within minutes of reaching their first men’s World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon gave the Three Lions a deserved 55th-minute lead against reigning champions Argentina at Atlanta Stadium. Instead, the match turned dramatically in the closing stages. Enzo Fernández fired home an 85th-minute equalizer before Lautaro Martínez headed the winner in the second minute of stoppage time, with both goals created by Lionel Messi, ending England’s hopes of ending a 60-year wait for a World Cup final appearance.
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Reacting to England’s defeat, Trump questioned Tuchel’s decision to adopt a defensive approach after taking the lead.
“They put their best player at defending,” Trump said.
“You have a great player in England, who I played golf with, he is Harry Kane.
“And maybe England made a mistake when they put him as a defensive player.
“They took a lead and they put their best player at defending,” the president said.
While Trump did not offer a detailed tactical analysis, his central argument was echoed by a number of former England internationals, who argued that Tuchel’s conservative substitutions handed control of the match to Argentina rather than allowing England to pursue a second goal.
Former England captain Wayne Rooney described England’s collapse as self-inflicted.
“We have crumbled,” Rooney told BBC Sport.
“It started with the manager and the decisions he made. It was too passive.
“Against this team, the world champions, you will not get away with it. This has been the biggest test and we have failed it.”
Rooney added that Tuchel’s substitutions effectively removed England’s attacking threat.
“I felt the changes we made at 1-0, that if Argentina scored we wouldn’t make extra time,” the former Manchester United Forward said.
Former England defender Micah Richards shared a similar view.
“When England scored that first goal they should have gone for the second,” Richards said.
“Yes, you respect their quality, but dropping deep allowed Argentina to get into their flow.”
Former Blackburn striker Chris Sutton went even further, calling the tactical switch “a coaching catastrophe.”
“You can’t expect to defend for 30 minutes against the quality Argentina had,” Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“It’s all on the coach. He made the changes. He was negative.”
Alan Shearer also questioned Tuchel’s approach, noting that England’s earlier comeback victories over DR Congo, Mexico, and Norway were not comparable because Argentina possessed far greater attacking quality.
“The difference is hanging on against Norway or Mexico. They have not got the quality this Argentina team have got,” Shearer said.
“Tuchel played his cards very, very early and it has backfired.”
Joe Hart argued Argentina never looked rattled after falling behind.
“I didn’t see one bit of panic from that Argentina side,” Hart said.
“I saw belief, I saw them realizing they could free up the great man Lionel Messi in the pocket, and they were running all over England.”
He also drew parallels with Gareth Southgate’s England teams, which were frequently criticized for becoming overly defensive after taking the lead in major tournaments.
The tactical shift was clear.
Following Gordon’s opener, Tuchel gradually dismantled England’s attacking shape.
In the 72nd minute, he replaced goalscorer Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa, switching to a back five. Around 10 minutes later, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly were introduced to reinforce the defense, while attacking substitutes Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney were not sent on until deep into stoppage time, leaving England with little opportunity to restore attacking momentum after Argentina equalized.
Tuchel defended his decisions after the match, insisting the changes were necessary because England had already begun losing control before the substitutions.
“We decided to go to a back five to close the gaps,” Tuchel said.
“Straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances, so we tried to help.
“The responsibility is on the coach. When it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say it was wrong.
“We were very close today.”
However, the statistical evidence strongly supports the criticism levelled at England’s tactical retreat.
According to Opta, England completed only three successful passes from eight attempts between the 66th minute and Argentina’s equalizer in the 85th minute. Only goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and defender John Stones completed those passes, with Pickford accounting for two of them.
The broader numbers between Gordon’s goal and Fernandez’s equalizer underline how completely Argentina controlled the contest. England had just 12% possession during that period, successfully completed only 24 of 34 passes, failed to register a single touch inside Argentina’s penalty area, and did not produce sustained attacking pressure.
Argentina, by contrast, dominated with 88% possession, recorded 15 touches inside England’s penalty area, continuously pinned England back, and eventually found the breakthrough through Fernandez before Messi created Martinez’s stoppage-time winner.
England’s attacking stars were also effectively removed from the contest. Neither Harry Kane nor Jude Bellingham recorded a single touch inside Argentina’s penalty area after England went ahead, illustrating how little opportunity they had to influence the game once England retreated into a defensive shell.
The numbers suggest England’s downfall was not simply the result of two late goals, but of an extended period in which they struggled to retain possession, relieve pressure, or threaten Argentina’s defense. That sustained dominance eventually told, allowing the world champions to complete another dramatic comeback and book their place in the World Cup final, while leaving Tuchel facing intense scrutiny over tactical decisions that many, including Trump, believe cost England their best opportunity in six decades to return to football’s biggest stage.