Read 6 minutesAtlantaUpdated: 16 July 2026 08:33 AM IST
The contemplation will continue for days, months and decades. Those six minutes between glory and despair, those six minutes when England lost their courage and clarity, those six minutes the nation may regret forever. Did England get too defensive after taking the lead? Has the historical flammability of the mind gnawed at them again? Do they have the will and determination to end their drought of titles, a chronic habit of slipping away when the coast is in their sights? Is it an irreparable tragic flaw passed down from generation to generation and passed on to their heirs?
Thomas Tuchel, the German manager’s defensive changes considered the turning point of the game, will be painted as the fall man. But if his tactics did not destroy England, it was the team’s inability to execute them and deal with Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni’s changes to the game.
A team defending a 1-0 lead in a semi-final with plenty of possessions isn’t cynicism, it’s a practical reaction to a situation in which opponents switch attacks. England’s backline consists of savvy and nous, some are league series winners, who have lived through such situations.
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Scaloni moved Messi from a central, free-roaming role to the right, his hunting ground in the past. He was acting as a hybrid winger. The intentions were simple, taking England by storm with Cross, mixing delivery style, weight, shape and bend. Some were long, some were short, some were floating, some were overwhelming. Some of the passes were long, short, medium range. Scaloni hired Messi because no one else had his range.
Argentina’s Enzo Fernandes (24) scored the opening goal in the 85th minute assisted by Messi. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
England lost ground there. They made the fatal mistake of giving Messi too much space and time. Messi and space are a combination for disaster. To score both goals, Messi had time to pick his players. No one choked him, no one put him down.
It was 11 v 10 inside the box and around. England assumed numerical superiority. Both goal-scorers Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez remained unmarked. Martinez pounced on John Stones, taller than the striker and a defender of aerial prowess; Fernandes was mistaken for a mop-up man while taking corners and no one bothered to check him. England was myopic and unimaginative. They tend only to create obstacles and defend their way out of trouble. Their positioning was greatly reduced, the neighbors operated much more. For example, John Stones and Dan Burns often found themselves suffocating close together and getting in each other’s way. Tuchel screamed and beckoned to stay away, but the forceful style of play backfired. A manager can only do so much to create a blueprint.
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England had little use for this formation. Under Tuchel, England have successfully embraced the move. Tuchel hinted as much: “I believe it’s just the nature of the game. When you lose, you’re criticized. That’s what it is. Nobody knows what would have happened if we had made different decisions.”
England may still have scored, because when Argentina flicked on the afterburner, a hitherto invisible crack and goal suddenly occurred. In a sense adding fresh legs and defensive reinforcements was the right decision. England panicked when they shouldn’t have. He made personal mistakes. Jude Bellingham, strangely emotional, is late to distort Fernandez’s vision and path. Jed Spence, strong and discreet with every effort so far, was second best through physical contact with Messi, before he crossed to Martinez for the second goal.
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Only his players froze. “We suddenly played with the feeling that we had a lot to lose. We fell into a deep block, which is no problem, but we struggled (to win) any duel, (now) any possession,” explained Tuchel.
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The biggest strategic defeat was that they trapped Anthony Gordon, absorbing speed from them. Argentina were able to throw men high with safety as England minimized the threat of a counter attack.
Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez (22) fires in the winner from Messi’s cross. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
This is not a complete failure of Tuchel’s tactics, but a broader failure to understand the sensibilities of the nation, its psyche conditioned by stories of episodic failure, pain and curses. As consistently as England have progressed to the end of tournaments, they have suffered back-to-back heartbreaks in two World Cup semi-finals and a Euro final in eight years. It takes more than a manager to change a country’s response. England may keep changing their managers, but unless the original impulse turns to a setback, a potential disaster, they will continue to lose on Wednesdays.
In other words, England needed a leader, a personality. They have excellent, talented and technical players, but lack the presence of a leader who can revive the team with a thump in the chest. Conversely, when push came to shove, every Argentine became a leader.
Finally, Tuchel, his eyes wide, took the blame on himself. “I made them, I accept the criticism,” he told a press conference. “But it wasn’t his tactics that let England down, it was a massive failure to understand the sensitivities of the team. It wasn’t about six damn minutes of madness, it was what was behind it.