Jamie O'Hara, a former Tottenham midfielder, sharply criticized the leadership of the England national team following their defeat by Argentina in the World Cup semi-final. He stated that the coach needed to be fired.
After England lost to Argentina 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, O'Hara commented on TalkSPORT. The match ended with Thomas Tuchel's team, which was leading 1-0 with five minutes left in regular time, ultimately losing.
England took the lead through Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute, bringing the team closer to the World Cup final, which had not been held since 1966. However, Enzo Fernández equalized in the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martínez scored in stoppage time following a cross from Lionel Messi.
O'Hara criticized Tuchel's tactical decisions, noting that Argentina's two goals in seven minutes were 'very effective, in the worst possible sense.' He stated that 'the heart is broken' and called one of Tuchel's decisions 'one of the worst managerial decisions I have ever seen.'
Specifically, he referred to Tuchel's attempt to close out the game after Gordon's goal. According to TalkSPORT, Gordon was replaced by central defender Ezri Konsa, and England retreated, allowing Argentina to control the last quarter of an hour of the game. O'Hara argued that one cannot play against Argentina while sitting in defense for 25 minutes, concluding: 'Thomas Tuchel cost us the World Cup – he cost us the World Cup!'
Besides O'Hara, Jason Candy called the approach 'cowardly.' O'Hara went further, stating that England 'left the World Cup in disgrace,' and demanded the coach's dismissal. An ESPN report also supported this criticism, noting that after taking the lead, England 'seemed simply to be trying to hold on,' which the publication felt 'is not enough at this level.'
As a result, Argentina advanced to face Spain in the final in New York, New Jersey. England will play in the third-place match against France. For viewers in South Africa, the final will start at 21:00 SAST (19:00 UTC) on Sunday.
England national team coach Thomas Tuchel faced sharp criticism from the British media after the team's defeat in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Argentina. Although Tuchel could blame the English players for excessive passivity, the main wave of criticism was directed at his defensive tactics.
England missed a chance to reach the first final of the World Cup since 1966 due to cautious substitutions made by Tuchel. In the match held at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday, the team allowed Argentina to score twice in the final minutes, leading to an Argentine victory with a score of 2-1.
The British tabloid The Sun reflected the fans' dissatisfaction by publishing headlines such as 'Lost his Tuch?' and 'Thomas tanked it'. Tuchel was harshly criticized for fielding Dan Burn and Ezri Konsa to form a five-man defense line, which was an attempt to hold onto the advantage after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring 1-0 in the second half in Atlanta.
English fans felt a familiar sense of disappointment, as their team had previously dropped one-goal leads against Croatia in the 2018 World Cup semi-final and against Italy in the Euro 2020 final, postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The newspaper The Daily Mail condemned Tuchel, noting that despite being hired to solve tactical problems caused by his predecessor Gareth Southgate, the German proved too negative at crucial moments. The Mail stated: 'Thomas Tuchel's changes cost England against Argentina—they were directionless and doomed to lose from that moment. It is a return to the bad habits that Gareth Southgate was criticized for.'
The Times columnist Martin Samuel noted that Tuchel was as conservative as many other unsuccessful former England managers. He wrote that 'the England manager should have dispelled the team's fear, but managers are pragmatists.' Samuel added that 'anyone who doesn't jump, the Argentinians sing. And anyone who knows how to hold an advantage in a World Cup semi-final is certainly not one. The sickness remains just as contagious as before. Another group, a new boss, the same depressing result.'
Tuchel's own words turned against him. Previously, he claimed that England was afraid to express themselves during the loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, which was Southgate's last match. Tuchel stated in March: 'In my observation, they were more afraid of being knocked out of the tournament than feeling excitement and hunger for victory. This international management game is not as simple as it seems.'
Nevertheless, given that the 52-year-old former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach is under contract until Euro 2028, the British media suggests that Tuchel will likely avoid dismissal. Another tabloid, The Mirror, had a headline stating: 'Thomas Tuchel will remain England's manager despite 'cowardly' defeat,' referencing comments by Iker Casillas, goalkeeper for the 2010 World Cup winning Spain, who described the coach's strategy as a 'cowardly approach.'
In the second T20 match held in Manchester against England, the Indian team was in a very favorable position, but one over completely changed the course of the game. In the seventeenth over, Ravi Bishnoi conceded 29 runs, including two no-balls.
Thanks to these two no-balls, Englishman Jacob Bethell took advantage of the free hit opportunity and hit two consecutive sixes. This over became the turning point of the entire match.
After the game, vice-captain and batsman Ishan Kishan admitted that receiving the free hit relieved the pressure on Bethell, allowing England to come back into the game. Kishan noted that the team played well, and their plans were correct, but Bethell demonstrated magnificent play.
He added that Bethell remained on the field for a long time, studied the pitch well, and knew which bowler to attack and when. Kishan emphasized that they could have done better and should not have given such free deliveries, off which Bethell managed to hit two sixes. He believes that scoring 12 runs from two deliveries without risk creates a huge disparity in T20 cricket, and such a mistake must be avoided next time.
India lost this match by four wickets, and England gained a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20 series. Although England needed 49 runs in the last four overs, Bishnoi's costly over changed the entire situation.
Despite the loss, Ishan Kishan maintained the team's fighting spirit. He stated that although they did not win the match, they are playing good cricket. In his opinion, the most important thing is to learn from every game and understand where improvement is needed. He noted that the atmosphere in the team is good, all players support each other and strive to get better. Kishan added that although defeats affect mentality, there are experienced players in their team who know how to get back on track.
Currently, India has suffered three losses in the last four T20 Internationals, and now the entire team is focused on getting back into the game in the next match and leveling the series score.
