England's World Cup Bronze Fails to Silence Criticism of Manager Thomas Tuchel

Only England can claim the bronze medal at the World Cup by beating France in a 10-goal thriller and end up even more annoyed with the manager. Yet emotions are still running high after the collapse against Argentina last week and it is going to take more than winning a game low on jeopardy for the criticism of Thomas Tuchel to die down.

Hiring Tuchel was centred around the promise that he would make the difference in the big games. When that fell down, all that was left was anger. It exposed the core emptiness of the appointment, of a rich federation covering up the flaws in its coaching development by trying to game the system by throwing money at an expensive outsider.

What is the Football Association’s vision? The initial idea was Tuchel providing a short, sharp shock and his tactical acumen helping England to get over the line. Then came a change after a successful qualifying campaign against modest opposition. The FA moved the goalposts by handing Tuchel a contract extension, and suddenly winning the World Cup did not seem quite as pressing.

Yet the idea of Tuchel as a project builder seemed far-fetched during the bitter recriminations after the defeat by Argentina. Criticised for his negative substitutions when England led, the German talked dismissively of English DNA, lamenting the lack of care in possession. Fair enough, you thought, because this has long been a weakness – only, hadn’t Tuchel caused some of the damage by leaving out most of the ball players from his squad? Would it have been different if Adam Wharton, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer had been around in Atlanta? Maybe not, but a lot of money has been spent on developing a different type of English player in recent decades.

Perhaps Tuchel was thinking of an old English DNA. But maybe this is part of the issue with employing a foreign coach whose focus is on winning by any means possible. This is the third time England have been down this road. There is an idea of the manager from abroad as a sophisticate. But Sven-Göran Eriksson was not as tactically adroit as Glenn Hoddle. Eriksson played a traditional 4-4-2 whereas Hoddle was flexible with his formations.

Tuchel, too, has struggled to build an identity. He seems taken with an outdated English style. Tuchel wanted to play like a Premier League team, with pace and physicality, but that has rarely worked for England. They tend to be outpassed in big knockout games, which is why there has been such focus in youth football in developing players more at ease with the dominant Spanish passing style.

Spain have just won another World Cup, their method too much for Argentina in a dour final, and for those watching from afar a big takeaway will surely be that the last two teams standing were led by homegrown coaches.

Luis de la Fuente and Lionel Scaloni have risen through the ranks and are part of a system. They have a feeling for their countries, a sense of the identity. Tuchel has been inserted in the hope he can cover up the FA’s failure to produce its own coaches. No male team led by a foreign manager has secured the World Cup and it should worry the FA when bringing in an outsider with a win-now mentality ends with the senior side using a very different style of play to younger age groups.

There is a view within youth coaching circles that Tuchel has taken England backwards at this tournament. The under-21s have won the past two European Championships by being brave on the ball. They have beaten Spain in consecutive tournaments and the demand from Lee Carsley is that his players take risks in possession. Tuchel finished the semi-final by lobbing balls towards Dan Burn. He played a pragmatic style and his England ended up unable to throw caution to the wind. This World Cup underlines that turning to celebrated coaches from the club game is not a recipe for success.

Brazil appointed Carlo Ancelotti but went out in the last 16. Roberto Martínez failed with Portugal after sticking with Cristiano Ronaldo. Mauricio Pochettino oversaw the USA side being humiliated by Belgium.

Scaloni came through the national setup before winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022. Similarly De la Fuente won the European Under-19 Championship with Spain in 2015 and the European Under-21 Championship in 2019. He has brought players through and, having earned a promotion, won the senior European title in 2024.

Spain show smooth progression. Players who beat Argentina in the final played youth football for De la Fuente. This is not to say that England’s next step should be to appoint Carsley, who did not seem as if he had the temperament for the senior job when he filled in as caretaker between Gareth Southgate’s departure and Tuchel’s arrival. Even so, Carsley is closer to the Spanish style and has shown it is possible for England teams to be risk-takers.

It is food for thought for the FA as it reviews England’s World Cup. As it stands, Tuchel will get another tournament. There are bridges to build but finishing third is not a sackable offence. In any case there is no other idea at the FA. Tuchel was not produced, he was bought. Hopefully he adapts during the Nations League. There should be a shift away from this physical style. But do not be surprised if the hired gun’s views on English DNA end up making him sound out of touch. It would not happen to Spain. De la Fuente knows their identity. He is part of it.