After England's 1-2 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semi-final, when asked the veiled question, "Have we seen Thomas Tuchel's England team throughout the 2026 World Cup yet?", the German strategist replied: "I don't know. I don't have an answer to that question because I really don't know what it means. I don't know. I think we saw the fighting spirit throughout the match and the strength of the whole team. We played according to the nature of the game. We played against strong teams in the tournament."

Coach Thomas Tuchel during the match between England and Argentina, which took place on the morning of July 16th at the Atlanta stadium. Photo: AP

Coach Thomas Tuchel spoke about the difficulties the England team had faced: "We had to travel a lot of miles, do a lot of traveling. We played in high-altitude terrain, played with only 10 men, played in intense heat. We overcame every obstacle. Today we were very, very close to winning. Now is not the time to analyze the entire tournament. We were eliminated only because we lost one important match.”

Despite England's 1-2 defeat to rivals Argentina, coach Thomas Tuchel has no regrets. He stated: “At the moment, I have no regrets. The whole team gave their all, and we were very, very close to winning. I think we deserved to be 1-0 up. We played one of our best games, perhaps the best game in this situation. The whole team showed great determination, but we couldn't finish the game perfectly. At the moment, I have no regrets.”

Speaking about his tactical choices in the match against Argentina, coach Thomas Tuchel emphasized: “We decided to switch to a five-defender formation because there were too many gaps and the defense was too loose. We did this to close down the gaps and be more secure in aerial duels. Immediately after conceding the goal, without any substitutions, we allowed the opponent to create too many opportunities. We tried to equalize but failed. We were very close to winning, but played too passively after scoring. Of course, the responsibility lies with the head coach.”

Video of Lautaro Martinez's goal, shattering England's dreams. Source: VTV