Thomas Tuchel has "no regrets" as Harry Kane criticises England boss after painful World Cup loss to Argentina

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has insisted that he has “no regrets” about his tactical approach in their 2026 World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina on Wednesday.

The Three Lions were within minutes of reaching a first men’s World Cup final since 1966, and their first ever on foreign soil, after Anthony Gordon scored the opening goal early in the second half.

However, Argentina pulled off another memorable comeback, with Enzo Fernandez’s 85th-minute equaliser followed by a 92nd-minute winner headed home by substitute Lisandro Martinez, securing a 2-1 win and sending the reigning world champions through to Sunday’s final against Spain.

England, who had just 12% possession between Gordon’s 55th-minute goal and Argentina’s winner, invited pressure from Argentina following Tuchel’s decision to switch to a five-man defence and sit deep with 18 minutes of normal time remaining.

Ezri Konsa was brought on for Gordon immediately after the second-half hydration break, before Tuchel turned to Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly in place of injured Reece James and Declan Rice.

Tuchel did throw on Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford deep into second-half stoppage time after Argentina had taken the lead, but it was ultimately too late and the damage was already done.

Frustration and disappointment are the overwhelming feelings felt by England supporters, and while Tuchel was also downbeat at full time, he felt that the Three Lions played “maybe our best match” considering the scale of the challenge.

Tuchel takes responsibility for England’s World Cup semi-final defeat

“You can discuss this with a million coaches (but) I have to make a decision on the pitch,” Tuchel told BBC Sport post-match.

“I analysed the match and I did it a certain way so that’s my responsibility. In the moment, no regrets. The team gave everything and we were very, very close. We deserved to be up 1-0.

“We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match in the circumstances. The team was top, we couldn’t get over the line but no regrets.

“I think we saw the mentality throughout the match and the strong group. We played the matches how they were, we played against strong teams in the group, travelled a lot of miles, played at altitude, we played with 10 men, we played in the heat and we overcame every obstacle.

“We were very close today. It’s not the moment to analyse the full tournament, we just went out because we lost a crucial match.”

Tuchel: “It’s easy to say it was wrong”

Explaining the tactical changes he made, Tuchel said: “We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open. Argentina played with more risk, played with more rhythm and played with the feeling maybe that they had nothing to lose any more, which freed them up and pulled us back.

“Because we obviously played suddenly with a feeling that we had a lot to lose. Of course the responsibility is on the coach and if it doesn’t go well it’s easy to say it was wrong.”

Asked whether England’s tendency to throw leads away was down to mentality, Tuchel added: “I don’t believe so much in an English thing and a curse or whatever.

“It’s repeating itself in different moments. It’s different coaches, different players, different situations. What cost us today was that we were not active enough in any structure."

Harry Kane: 'At this level, it is not enough'

Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane has criticised Tuchel’s decision to retreat into a defensive shell against an opponent as dangerous as Argentina.

“Just gutted, gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone: the team, the staff, the fans,” he told BBC Sport.

“We played well for the vast majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up we just seemed to try to hold on which, at this level, is not enough.

“After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us being able to match them man for man, it just was wave after wave and we were just trying to hold on, put the blocks in, but in the end it wasn’t enough.”

Kane is England’s joint-top scorer at this summer’s World Cup along with Jude Bellingham (six goals each) and both players still have the opportunity to increase their tallies when the Three Lions face France in the third-placed playoff on Saturday.

Asked about his England future at a post-match press conference, Tuchel said: “There’s still another game to play. We’re not looking forward to it perhaps but we are under contract until the home Euros (in 2028).”

While England will take on France in Miami, Argentina and Spain will lock horns at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for the 2026 World Cup final on Sunday.