Thomas Tuchel insists he has “no regrets” about England’s approach in their World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina.England led the defending champions deep into the closing stages at Mercedes-Benz Stadium only for Argentina to score twice, in the 85th and 92nd minutes, to snatch a 2-1 victory and seal a place in Sunday’s final where they will play Spain.The team’s approach, which saw them drop closer towards their own goal to defend their lead, was criticised by many observers, including Fox’s Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney, the former England captain, on the BBC.Tuchel took responsibility for the side’s exit and insists they played “maybe our best match” given the challenge in front of them.“You can discuss this with a million coaches (but) I have to make a decision on the pitch,” he told the BBC after the game.“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.”Anthony Gordon had given England the lead on 55 minutes, finishing smartly from a Morgan Rogers cross.The goalscorer went on to be replaced by defender Ezri Konsa as England opted for a back five, with Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly also introduced before Argentina’s late double, through Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.Asked by Fox about his choice of changes, Tuchel said: “I did also offensive substitutions in last games. We try to help the players. We decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open, they won every header, they kept crossing and crossing.“We went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air because straight after our goal, with no substitutions, we just conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances. We tried to help but of course, the responsibility is on the coach and if it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to say it was wrong.”Asked about his England future in his post-game press conference, Tuchel replied: “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).”Tuchel’s England will take on France in the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday.Jul 15, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms