Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has spoken out about Thomas Tuchel's approach during the second half of England's World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
The Three Lions crashed out of the international tournament in devastating circumstances in Atlanta on Wednesday, conceding a 92nd-minute winner from Lautaro Martinez. Tuchel's side were five minutes from booking their place in the country's first World Cup final since 1966, but let their lead slip at the death.
Anthony Gordon's opener was cancelled out by Enzo Fernandez's strike and Martinez's header, condemning England to yet more tournament heartbreak.
While Tuchel has faced significant criticism for some of the pragmatic decisions he made in the latter stages at the Atlanta Stadium, Klopp has now publicly defended his compatriot.
Jurgen Klopp Defends Thomas Tuchel After England vs Argentina
After going 1-0 up in the 55th minute, England retreated 10 yards or so, opting to sit deep in a compact shape to try and see the game out. Tuchel clearly leaned on this defensive approach, introducing the likes of Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly from the bench.
The Three Lions finished the match with 36% possession, five total shots and just 0.53 expected goals. Unsurprisingly, with things not ultimately panning out in the way Tuchel would've hoped, the German has come in for criticism for his contributions to this failure.
However, Klopp has stood up for the ex-Chelsea boss, arguing that if the England manager had opted for a more expansive approach, he would've been lamented if they didn't progress. These comments have subsequently gone viral.
“People always speak after the game like coaching is easy – like you just choose ‘attack’ or ‘defend’ and that’s it," Klopp explained to the Telegraph .
"It doesn’t work like this. Football is much more complex.
“I see the criticism of Tuchel for trying to defend the 1-0 against Argentina, but let me tell you something – if he didn’t do that, if he kept pushing forward and they conceded, the same people would be here saying, ‘Why didn’t he control the game? Why didn’t he defend the lead?’ In knockout football, whatever decision you make, someone will criticise you.
“I’m not saying every decision is perfect, but you have to understand the logic behind it. Managing a game at that stage is never simple.
"And then there’s another reality. This Argentina team, the belief, the mentality – sometimes it feels like something special is with them in these moments.”
Tuchel May Have Lost Control of his Team Against Argentina
In reality, it's very plausible that Tuchel didn't want his team to become so passive after scoring. While his late substitutions did indicate that he was trying to hold on to the narrow lead rather than build on it, these changes came late in the game when sitting back was the correct ploy - going gung-ho at this point would've been naive.
However, in the period after scoring, before the final 15 minutes or so, England were far too defensive, and this may not have been what Tuchel was looking for from his players.
In fact, Harry Kane revealed after the match that the messaging from the coaching staff was to keep pushing forward after scoring, and the striker claimed that he was bemused as to why the players were unable to oblige.
Evidently, Tuchel wasn't able to communicate his tactical instructions to his players, and this suggests that he may ultimately have lost control of his team as the semi-final wore on.
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