Tuchel: England was "waiting for death" in its loss to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals

German Thomas Tuchel said that England was “waiting for death” in its defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semi-finals, at a time when the “Three Lions” coach continued to defend his controversial substitutions.

Tuchel is preparing to announce the England national team roster, in his first match since the painful end of his World Cup career.

However, before the European Nations League matches against Spain, Croatia and Czechia, the coach revealed that the pain of the team’s failure to reach the first World Cup final since 1966 still haunts him.

England squandered the lead given to them by Anthony Gordon, after late goals from Enso Fernandes and Lautaro Martinez sealed Argentina's 2-1 win.

Tuchel was widely criticized for giving up the initiative to Argentina, through a series of defensive substitutions in the second half.

But the German coach felt that he had to intervene, because England was unable to deal with Argentina's changes, which were much more offensive than his changes, in light of its search for victory.

“You can try to kill me here,” he said in a documentary on the England national team’s app. “But this is my wound, not yours. No one is in more pain than me, and no one wanted to win more than me.”

He added, "They can torture you endlessly, and you keep thinking if I had made different substitutions, we would have won the match, but you simply don't know that."

Tuchel explained that a combination of the obvious fatigue of the England players on the one hand, and the success of the bet on defending with five defenders during his team's victories against Mexico and Norway on the other hand, influenced his decision to maintain the lead in the score.

The English Football Association signed the former coach of Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain in France, and Bayern Munich in Germany, due to his extensive experience and successes at the club level.

He had promised to make England play more attacking football than it was under his predecessor, Gareth Southgate.

But the team, influenced by Tuchel's conservative substitutions, fell backwards and collapsed under the increasing pressure against Argentina.

"When I look back and think about what happened to my decision-making process, there was a pivotal moment, that we conceded a very dangerous opportunity just before the water break," he said.

He continued, "And I thought: We will not last. This is waiting for death. We do not possess the ball, we do not defend well, and we do not defend correctly with the 4-4-2 plan. We need help."

He continued, "I think that based on what I saw and on the experience and information and the level of madness of Argentina, which was making one attacking change after another, that was the solution I found to the problem. This is the role of the coach in intervening. I am trying to help. You do not carry out something out of arrogance or for any other reason like that. You are just trying to help."