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Will England fire Thomas Tuchel after blowing World Cup semifinal vs. Argentina? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
England's joy in being a match away from a World Cup final for the first time since 1966 was short-lived, and many Three Lions fans believe manager Thomas Tuchel is a large reason to blame.
Despite leading 1-0 against the defending champions Argentina after 84 minutes, England allowed not one but two goals thanks to two Lionel Messi assists. In doing so, Tuchel and company earned themselves the sharp slap in the face that is the third-place match.
England came into the tournament with trophy-or-bust aspirations, and even though they lost to one of the world's best national teams, the loss stings more knowing tactics and manager decisions were at the forefront of the reasons for defeat. Many fans have called for the Three Lions to fire Tuchel.
Here's a look at whether or not England will sack Tuchel ahead of the painful loss.
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Will England fire Thomas Tuchel?
At the moment, England has not indicated that their national team would fire Tuchel after the 2-1 semifinal loss to Argentina. Many fans, however, were disappointed in Tuchel's first World Cup showing for The Three Lions.
Against Argentina in the semifinal, England appeared to be content with a one-goal lead. Tuchel spoke with the BBC after the match and revealed what went wrong in the loss.
"We got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances. We could not turn ball possession around and conceded so many crosses and shots," Tuchel said. "We couldn't keep the level up after we scored.
We couldn't get out. Of course we wanted to go for the second goal. It was not a structural problem, we changed nothing after the goal."
According to Mike Keegan, chief sports reporter for Daily Mail Sports, Tuchel won't be going anywhere just yet. He reportedly has full backing from England's Football Association and will remain employed until the 2028 Euro.
MORE WORLD CUP NEWS:
Why England fans want Thomas Tuchel fired
After their opening 4-2 win against Croatia in the group stage, England's performance at the 2026 World Cup had been rather lackluster. In their second match, the heavily-favored England finished against Ghana in a scoreless draw. The team was able to defeat Panama 2-0 in their final group-stage match, but took until the 60th minute in the second half to get their first goal.
During the knockout stages, England were losing to first-time World Cup participant DR Congo through nearly seventy minutes of game time. The Three Lions were able to navigate through and prevail in the end, but many fans expected England to cruise through this matchup. England also trailed against Norway briefly in the first half of their quarterfinal match, and it took two Jude Bellingham goals to lead England through.
In their match against Argentina, Tuchel waited until the 72nd minute to make his first defensive substitution. Once England allowed Enzo Fernandez to score Argentina's opening goal, the Three Lions shifted to having five defenders in the back. This move, which had fans from both corners questioning the move for being too early or too late, was universally viewed as being faulty.
After the game, Tuchel was featured on Fox to explain what the process was regarding his defensive substitutions. Here is what England's manager said:
"I did also offensive substitutions in the last games, we just tried to help the players," said Tuchel. "We conceded [a chance] straight away and we decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open."
MORE ARGENTINA-ENGLAND NEWS:
- Lionel Messi, Argentina add to World Cup comeback history
- How Thomas Tuchel's cowardly tactics cost England
- Where Argentina loss ranks among England's World Cup disappointments
Thomas Tuchel record with England
Entering their match against Argentina, England's last loss with Tuchel at the helm came on March 31, when the Three Lions were downed 1-0 on March 31. Here's a look at the England manager's record through his tenure since December 2024, per FotMob:
| Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 16 | 2 | 3 |
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