FIFA World Cup 2026: England Tournament Thread [R]

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We’re going to waste a very strong pool of talent: Mainoo, Foden, Saka, Rice, Guehi, Palmer, a prime Bellingham, and more. Unless every single one of them turns into a Ballon d’Or contender year after year, making it impossible for Tuchel to ignore them.


But are all of Spain’s players at that level? I don’t think so. Success isn’t about having 11 superstars. It’s about building a balanced team with players who complement each other, alongside two or three genuinely world-class talents. Tuchel inherited a strong squad and has somehow made it worse.


I don’t mind losing, but not like this. Losing to France after dominating large spells of the match made me proud. Losing like cowards makes me ashamed.

 

A few non-negotiable things absolutely must happen before the Euros.

A change in manager with the priority on getting us back on the trackline that Southgate had us and how our playing identity was moving. Even if it means accepting that we won't go as far in the next tournament, we must revert back to our evolution of 2022-24.

The FA have done immeasurable damage in the past two yrs and they need to take responsibility, cut their losses instead of doubling down on the hiring of Tuchel. When a manager often has a bad first tournament, it's historically not a good sign. Hodgson should have been sacked after 2014 and we kept him on too long.

Harry Kane also needs to be phased out as he will be 35 by 2028.
We need to start blooding in some new players into the core of this team from as early as the next international window and that usually means sacrificing at least one tournament to give your younger, less experienced players the exposure to tournament football

 

Are English people mad at hiring a German? Germany would never hire an English manager.

But you say, there were not good enough English managers to pick from?
But... Argetina manager (Scaloni) was pretty much a nobody when he got the job... so this proves you don't need a Champions League trophy in your cabinet to lead your country to the World Cup.

It seems Tuchel only won big stuff at clubs that spent a lot anyways. And overall he underperformed given such big budgets and stars.

His choices (exclusions of top players) seemed bizarre
His lineup of this match seemed kind of strange
His tactical decision after going up 1-0 seemed elementary
As an Yank, I don't get it

 

I feel for your team. So sorry!

BUT…

Three straight games = Three straight comebacks

I just think Argentina was destined to be, you don’t get lucky like that.

 

I genuinely can't work out what improvements we've actually meant to have made under Tuchel. If anything we've got worse at breaking down low blocks. Pressing has been incoherent at best all tournament and been more of a liability than a benefit for the side. Defensively we have looked disastrous all tournament. Our ball retention has actually got markedly worse, certainly since 2020-22 era England and we have a tendency to turn games into basketball games. His in-game tactical changes, I guess the Croatia ones were innovative and worked well? Outside that not really seeing the genius. Outright nearly cost the Norway game with his terrible Eze substitution he spent an entire half trying to fix, and then of course tonight we've all said plenty about how bad it was.

Bellingham I guess he got the best out of? In as much as that was him. Even then he kept having to move him deep because he had no central midfielders in the squad to replace Rice going off.

 

The FA have already told him he is safe till July 2028 and he can do what he wants.

I honestly think the FA wouls now back him if he brought back Mason Greenwood!

 

there will not be a foreign manager in the world cup final.
this is not a coincidence.

 

No country has ever won a WC with a foreign Manager and I don't think they ever will in our lifetime.

 

We did that in the last Euro's and in the end it turned out that actually you do sometimes just get lucky like that.

Not that they were lucky tonight, they were handed the game on a platter.

 

We had control of the game till his subs. It wasn't luck no. It was unforgivable tactics by that clown

 

The FA will probably keep trying.

 

If there is any consolation, we'd absolutely have lost against Spain.

We'd have been physically ruined by that point and I think Spain were/are the freshest of all the semifinalists.

 

Spain would have stomped us because they have a manager who knows u need a proper squad structure

 

Let’s see how the final goes first.

 

Argentina winning wouldn't change the fact we'd have almost certainly lost to Spain.

 

As soon as he said that Quansah can play at RB because RCB in a three is similar position alarm bells started ringing.

 

I'm in limbo. I've never felt this low about a tournament. In the past I've accepted that we weren't quite good enough (Spain 2 years ago) just proud of our achievements (Croatia 2018) disappointed we hadn't had any luck in a penalty shootout (Italy) and proud we'd gone toe to toe with a top team (France 2022) tonight I'm seething !!!! Seething!! That a clown of a manager has practically let it slip from our grasp. I'll never see England lift a world cup in my lifetime

 

I’m worried about the Nations League. Tuchel feels like the type to experiment and blow matches in that safe in the knowledge that the FA probably won’t sack him even if we got relegated.

 

I was at peace with losing a final to Spain, firstly it'd have been a first world cup final in 60 years, secondly they're a genuinely excellent team.

But this Argentina team, who we had the better of till we had the lead? It's humiliating to say that Cape Verde ultimately gave them a much better game than we did. Egypt despite their collapse had way more about them than we did at 1-0 and actually sustained attacks. Not to mention all the carry on with the Argentinian players when they win.

Even if we'd lost to this Argentinian side and had tried in vein to stay on the front foot I could take it. We keep trying to play our game and its still not enough? Ok. The team just not having enough quality in the end, fine, go home with your heads held high. Going out with 6 defenders and 4 centre backs desperately trying to get through to survive to extra time is another story. I can't even sleep i'm so angry at how much of a disaster class that was.

 

Switzerland with 10 men showed more intent than us

 

In a strange way Gordon’s goal screwed us.

 

Let's be brutally honest , it were the players who dragged England as far as the Semi's this WC along with Bellingham.

All Tuchel did was get in their way, by leaving huge amounts of quality at home, and refusing to rotate his own team, because the quality (which he chose not to bring) wasn't there. And he got found out the moment Kane/Bellingham couldn't bail the team out of trouble.

As much as the media were doing their usual shit stirring. I felt the mask had slipped momentarily when Bellingham reacted to Tuchels comments after the Norway game. I think most of the players in that dressing room know he had very little to do with it.

 

🚨England boss Thomas Tuchel retains the full backing of FA chief executive Mark Bullingham and will remain in charge for the Euros - despite a hugely disappointing defeat to Argentina in Atlanta. More @MailSport shortly.

— Mike Keegan (@MikeKeegan_DM) July 15, 2026

It is all going to end in tears,

 

Just one of many examples. You can argue that amongst the pool of "top" club managers he's the most uniquely unsuited to international football.

Tbf I often tell myself after an unexpected win that I'm satisfied with a certain milestone and the next game is a free hit but when it arrives I rarely actually feel that way.

It's impossible to not be annoyed after that game and it's going to sting us all for a while, but I think in terms of the result itself and the game dynamic I think we've been through worse. We got through those and we'll get through this.

I think what annoys me more about that game rather than the result is that it's essentially confirmed that next two years of following England is going to be a) not very fun from an entertainment perspective and b) likely a complete waste of a cycle and a home tournament, and therefore a waste of everyone's time.

 

18% possession we had after we scored tonight. That is more embarrassing than a team who goes down to ten men.

It's just an unforgivable tactical adjustment and its actually substantially worse than what Southgate did in 2021.