England saw their World Cup hopes brutally ended by Argentina with boss Thomas Tuchel criticised for his defensive decisions ahead of the Three Lions’ late collapse in Atlanta16:24, 17 Jul 2026Former England coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has suggested that Gareth Southgate would not have made the mistakes that led to their heart-breaking defeat to Argentina.‌Thomas Tuchel’s side were dumped out of the World Cup at the semi-final stage against the South Americans. England had actually taken the lead through Anthony Gordon, only to invite pressure in the second half, with goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez turning the game around late on.‌Current boss Tuchel tweaked England’s approach in Atlanta, having introduced a series of defensive players, as well as changing their formation to a back five. Hasselbaink, who was a coach under Southgate from March 2023 up until his eventual exit after Euro 2024, has claimed that the former Middlesbrough boss would not have made the same errors that Tuchel did.‌Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football YouTube show, the Dutchman said: “We’re talking after the game, and it’s easy, you know, but I don’t think that Gareth would have gone to a back five. I don’t think that he would have gone to it with 20, 25 minutes before the game finishes.”Of course, Southgate was criticised for similar mistakes following England’s Euro 2020 defeat against Italy, having also taken the lead.“I don’t think that Steve Holland would have liked him to do that,” Hasselbaink added. “The reason why I think that is when they played Italy, they played a five; they had difficulties getting out and all that kind of stuff. I think that he would have kept it at a four.‌“I think he would have changed the wide players and still had energy up front so that he could still press from the front and still be able to get behind their defence.”And while Hasselbaink was critical of the way Tuchel approached the game, he also took aim at the players themselves and claimed they should take some responsibility for the performance.‌“After the 1-0, when they’re going backwards, that is not Tuchel,” he said. “That has nothing to do with Tuchel.“That is just a mentality of the players thinking, ‘Oh, we need to defend now that 1-0’, instead of having the same kind of tactics and having the game in their half, because that’s really what they were doing. And then after the substitutions, that is where that is Tuchel’s decision.”Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.Article continues belowContent cannot be displayed without consent