Tuchel Praises Argentina’s Mentality After England’s 2-1 World Cup Semi-Final Defeat

Argentina 2-1 England in the World Cup semi-final. After the match, England head coach Thomas Tuchel attended the post-match press conference. Below is the second part of the press conference.

On why Argentina always seem to have an “extra life” and the role of their fans

Question: Argentina have found themselves in difficult situations against Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland, but they have always managed to find a way through. Why do you think Argentina always seem to have an “extra life”? And what role do you think their fans played in this match?

Tuchel:
First of all, the support from the fans was absolutely incredible. This match almost felt like an away game for us. Of course, we knew we would face this kind of atmosphere, but we responded to that pressure.

As I said before, I think we can be proud of our performance today. This was an important match against a very strong opponent. We tried to eliminate the world champions, and we tried to defeat a team with huge experience in major tournaments.

I think Argentina, in many ways, are at their best when they fall behind. When they are losing, they take more risks. You can see their full ability in possession: they can control the ball, find every space, break through defensive lines, and they are extremely strong in terms of competitiveness.

Of course, we are also a very competitive team. But today, they were able to take advantage of the changes in the match situation.

I felt that when they went behind, they developed a mindset of “there is nothing left to lose.” So they committed more players forward, took more risks, and that brought out their strongest qualities. Unfortunately, that worked against us.

On whether he will continue as England manager

Tuchel:
First of all, the World Cup is not over yet. We still have one more match to play. Of course, it is not the match we wanted to be playing.

After that, we will continue to fulfil our contract until the home European Championship. I am looking forward to continuing the journey.

Although, at this moment, it is difficult to look too far into the future.

On Argentina’s style of play

Tuchel:
I think fundamentally, possession plays a very important role in the football culture of Argentina and South America.

They learn how to control the ball from a very young age. Possession is already part of their football DNA. It requires enormous confidence and a natural belief in themselves.

They always want to have the ball. They always want to appear in spaces. They define themselves through possession and by controlling the rhythm of the match.

I think the key point is this: when you face a team like this under huge pressure, you need to have enough courage to win the ball back from them at crucial moments.

You have to get every detail right. You need to read passing lanes accurately, choose the right defensive angles, adjust your body position, and make the correct decision in an instant.

You need to use small combinations, such as two-versus-one or three-versus-two situations, to truly break through their first line of pressure.

You cannot be affected by their momentum, and you cannot allow yourself to be dominated physically.

Because Argentina’s football does have very clear characteristics: they are physically strong and aggressive, but at the same time they possess exceptional technical ability and control of the ball.

But in reality, this is not the first time something like this has happened. Sometimes, when you concede a goal, something is actually released within the team.

Players start to play more freely because they think: “We are already behind, we have nothing to lose.”

Then you can regain your rhythm and take back control of the match.

That is exactly what happened today.

To come back from such a difficult situation requires huge physical effort, strong mental resilience, and great courage. Unfortunately, we did not manage to do that today.

Of course, we always wanted to achieve it. There is no doubt about that.

The players gave everything and showed their commitment. But you could also see signs of fatigue at certain stages of the match.

Throughout this World Cup journey, we have had players who were ill, players who played through injuries, and other physical issues within the squad.

So the final result was caused by many different factors coming together.

Those factors combined to put us in a difficult position, and ultimately we paid the price.

On preparing the team for the third-place playoff and his message in the dressing room

Question: You have already mentioned this, but how will you and the players recover mentally for Saturday’s match? After all, this is a game that nobody really wants to play. And what did you say to the players in the dressing room? It feels like another missed opportunity.
Tuchel:

Of course, we have to wait four years before we get another opportunity like this.

Reaching the semi-final itself is already an achievement. This was a World Cup semi-final. Many major football nations were eliminated before reaching this stage.

So yes, it is an achievement.

But right now, nobody wants to hear that. I do not want to hear it either, because we set the highest standards for ourselves. That is the nature of competitors. That is the nature of people with a strong desire to win.

You are right — that also makes the next match more complicated.

No player wants to play this kind of game. The French players will feel the same way. They wanted to be in the final.

All of us came to the World Cup with the dream of winning the trophy.

But this is reality, and we have to accept it.

The challenge now is that we have one less day of recovery compared with our opponents.

However, we will prepare for the next match with the professionalism expected from elite players.

In the dressing room after the match, I did not say too much.

Because whatever you say in that moment cannot immediately remove the pain and disappointment that the players are feeling.

We have all experienced moments like this, and we know exactly what it feels like.

So I told them that, first of all, we need to face this moment with respect.

We need to process the defeat and accept the reality that we have already given everything we had.

Being able to acknowledge that is also an important part of dealing with failure.

To reach this semi-final, we did everything we could.

Did we give 100% effort? Yes, we did.

I believe the fans could feel that as well. They saw everything the team gave for this journey.

Now we need to stand up again and respond.

That is what elite sport demands from us, and that is the attitude we must show.