Tuchel Did The Right Thing Against Argentina – John Barnes

Liverpool legend John Barnes has defended Thomas Tuchel’s tactical decisions in England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

Insisting that the German coach made the correct substitutions in the game, Barnes revealed that criticism of Tuchel ignores England’s standing in world football and the realities of tournament football.

Arguing that the Three Lions were never expected to dominate possession or outplay Argentina, he stressed that the manager simply had to protect the lead.

His words, “We were 1-0 up in a tournament where we’re never going to dominate possession against, or outplay, anyone.

We were 1-0 up, so why should we make attacking substitutions because if he did that and we went on and lost, then people would be asking why he did that. He did exactly the right thing.

It didn’t go wrong. We’re number four in the world, so we should finish third or fourth, which is where we’re going to be. I don’t know why we expected anything different.

When you have a manager like Thomas Tuchel, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to be pragmatic, strong, disciplined and resilient.

We’re not going to outplay teams, but instead we beat teams with our strength. Against Argentina we went 1-0 and every decision Thomas Tuchel made was the right decision. He responded to what was going on in front of him.”