England players were left 'shocked' by Thomas Tuchel decision vs Argentina as bombshell report emerges

A new report has revealed that some England players were left 'stunned' by Thomas Tuchel's tactical decisions, including his defensive changes, in their World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.

The biggest talking point from England's World Cup exit has been their below-par performance in the final stages against Argentina.

In fact, England had just 12 per cent possession from the 55th to the 92nd minute, which is the lowest by a team to be winning for at least 10 minutes in a World Cup match in the last 60 years.

Many have pointed the blame at Thomas Tuchel, who decided to go ultra-defensive after Anthony Gordon gave his side the lead with 55 minutes played.

Argentina, meanwhile, brought on a host of attacking changes while Tuchel replaced goalscorer Gordon with Ezri Konsa and moved to a back-five. It was a disastrous decision from the England head coach.

After being dominated for large spells, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly were then brought on in the 82nd minute to try and see out the game, but Lionel Scaloni's side capitalised, with Lionel Messi being the main orchestrator.

Enzo Fernandez was given a huge amount of space before firing in a long-range effort to equalise, before substitute Lautaro Martinez headed in a 92nd-minute winner to secure their place in the World Cup final.

England struggled after the second-half hydration break. Image credit: Getty

England, meanwhile, were left to lick their wounds. It was a frustrating result given the position they were in at the 55-minute mark, when Gordon tapped home from close range following some great wing play from Morgan Rogers.

England players were 'stunned' by Thomas Tuchel decision against Argentina

On Thursday afternoon, a report from The Telegraph claimed Tuchel’s decision to bring on Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn to defend their narrow lead 'stunned' some members of the England squad.

It is said there was 'belief' within the squad that Argentina were 'there for the taking' after Gordon opened the scoring.

In addition, they believed Argentina could have been hit on the counter-attack with a boost of pace. Of course, Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke were unused subs, while Marcus Rashford was brought on in stoppage time.

Lautaro Martínez, who scored the winner, commented on England's decision to drop deep after Gordon's goal.

“England pressed hard for about 60 minutes,” Martinez said. “After finding the goal, they dropped back, and that gave us more composure in circulating the ball and spreading the play. In the end, we managed to score two goals.”

Speaking in his post-match media duties, Marc Guehi admitted England "should have carried on" attacking after going 1-0 ahead.

"We should have carried on," Guehi said. "We should have carried on pushing. It kind of felt like we scored and the mentality was, go back, defend."

READ MORE: Marc Guehi interrupts Lionel Messi interview and makes telling comment after Argentina beat England

Thomas Tuchel defends tactical approach

Asked if he got his substitutions wrong on the night, Tuchel defended his decision to bring on defensive players.

“I believe that’s just the nature of the game," he said. “As soon as you lose, you get criticised. It’s just what it is and, yeah, you get criticised after.

"No one knows what would have happened if we made different decisions. So it makes no sense to engage in that and lose my head. I’m responsible for them, I took them, so I take the criticism. That’s just the way it is.”