France legend, Thierry Henry has pinpointed the reason behind England 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the semifinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
England was unable to break a 60-year drought in the United States, as Thomas Tuchel’s team fell 2-1 to the reigning champions, Argentina.
The Three Lions appeared to be on the verge of reaching their first World Cup final since 1966 when new Barcelona recruit, Anthony Gordon opened the scoring shortly after the interval.
However, Tuchel’s choice to adopt a defensive strategy at that moment proved to be a grave mistake, as relentless pressure from Argentina ultimately led to an equalizer from Chelsea midfielder, Enzo Fernandez.
By that time, England had six defenders on the field, and with no attacking options available, Argentina surged forward once more, netting a last-minute winner through Lautaro Martinez.
Tuchel introduced Rashford and Ivan Toney during stoppage time, but England could not find the equalizer, enduring yet another World Cup disappointment against their long-time rivals, Argentina.
Rashford had displayed some encouraging performances earlier in the tournament but lost his starting position to the energetic Gordon.
Henry has indicated that Tuchel was ready to substitute Rashford in just before Gordon scored to give England the lead at the Atlanta Stadium.
After England took the lead, Tuchel abandoned the idea of making any attacking substitutions, a decision that Henry criticized, asserting that the German manager ‘went defensive too soon.’
“As a coach on the bench, things unfold rapidly,” the Premier League icon and French World Cup champion remarked to FOX Sports.
“We need to evaluate the situation because Marcus Rashford was meant to come on just prior to Anthony Gordon’s goal.
“Once Gordon scored, the shift to a back-five occurred, which seemed premature. Then they lost Reece James and substituted in Nico O’Reilly, who was positioned on the wing.
“Suddenly, Argentina scores, and then what do you do with that formation? Then they score again, and now you have to attempt to bring in players to score.
“It’s not easy but I’ll repeat again, they went into a back-five too early. It’s not easy on the bench but they went defensive too early – you don’t beat that team [Argentina] like that.
“I think that England went into a back five too early for my liking, giving them the ball.”