00:00possible to analyze this Argentinian national team. They look like they're dead and buried
00:05every single game in the knockout phase, and yet they consistently pull a rabbit out of a hat
00:10every single game. I don't know how many times they have to do it for us to be like, all
00:15right,
00:15this is just who they are. And when you have the greatest player of all time, and when you have
00:20players who are willing to suffer and die on the field for him and for that crest, anything can
00:26happen at the end of a game. Now, this was a two-fold issue for England. They got through the
00:31first 60 minutes of the game. I thought they were very organized tactically. They defended very well.
00:36They didn't really concede a ton of opportunities to Argentina, and then they got their goal,
00:40and they completely stopped attacking. After the hydration break, Thomas Tuchel makes a tactical
00:45adjustment. He goes to five in the back. He adds another center back, and then England completely
00:51give up any and all impetus to not just attack, but to even keep possession. The perfect dichotomy
00:58of what you can describe with what we saw with Spain was the exact opposite with England. Spain goes up
01:04two goals. How do they kill the game off? With possession, they don't go into a defensive shell.
01:10They suffer and defend when they need to, when they have to, but they continue to put pressure and play
01:16higher up the field. England had 11 players behind the ball within 25 yards of their own goal. You
01:22allow Lionel Messi, the greatest playmaker of all time, to go along with one of the greatest goal
01:27scorers to start finding the ball with time and space to run at your back line. That is completely
01:33incomprehensible that you're going to change your tactics to allow him to have that type of time and
01:38space. England never looked comfortable. So they subbed too early because, I mean, again,
01:42they made the adjustment too early. As a novice here, it would seem like you're up 1-0. We're in
01:48the 70th minute. You want to put more defensive players on the field to protect the lead, but
01:53it's basically a play in a prevent defense too early? Far too early. You're essentially inviting
01:57pressure to just get rammed down your throat, chance after chance after chance. And you could see
02:02Argentina exactly how they were trying to create chances. Lionel Messi in the little half space on the
02:09right side of the field. You had Jed Spence, Jude Bellingham, Dan Byrne, trying to figure out who
02:15was going to step to him, who was going to take responsibility. And if you allow him time and
02:21space to get his head up, to drive at the back line, he is going to make the right decision.
02:25He is going
02:25to make the right pass. And maybe he wasn't dangerous today in and around the goal. I don't
02:29believe he had that many chances himself, not that many shots himself. But in the second half,
02:34because your team is so deep, because you change your shape so early, roles and responsibilities
02:39become really difficult to figure out with 25, 30 minutes left, depending on stoppage time.
02:44So then you're asking your team to defend against a team who, I don't know if we have a graphic,
02:50maybe we can, but I can go through the knockout stage for you. They scored multiple goals
02:54after the 80th minute in every single knockout stage game. I mean, listen, it's now seven goals
03:00in the last three games in the 75th minute or later. Seven goals, last three games, 75th minute
03:07or later. And listen, the tail of the tape in this game, it started out very even. It felt like
03:14an
03:14even game in terms of possession. England, Argentina, it was crazy physical. England played from out front.
03:20I mean, look at the 25 fouls over the course of the game. But to your point, late, Argentina had
03:27the
03:28ball the entire time. And it wasn't just, we talk about possession being an overrated statistic.
03:32They were putting the pressure on England, getting the quality chances. And it did feel like at some
03:37point it was inevitable. It always felt like the dam was going to break. I mean, before
03:41Argentina got the game tying goal, which comes off of a set piece, by the way. I hope we count
03:46this
03:47as a set piece goal, because it's a short corner where Lionel Messi gets the ball back. England is late
03:51to step out. There's a little bit of confusion. You have too many players. I believe it's Jude Bellingham
03:55trying to step out to Enzo Fernandez there. But he had given you a warning shot earlier.
03:59About 45 seconds before this, Enzo Fernandez was the one who took the shot from outside
04:03the box that Pickford had to save it. And so you are asking your team to defend so deep.
04:09Going to a back five, adding another center back on the field is a tactic for when you
04:14are potentially in the 85th minute, in the 86th minute, where you know that you are going
04:20to be able to see out a game with 10 minutes left, and you're just going to have to suffer.
04:23If you do it with 20, 25 minutes left, you just invite wave after wave of pressure. And
04:30Scaloni, he was throwing the kitchen sink at him. He threw on attacking players. He threw
04:34on Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, to come in and put more pressure inside the box. And
04:39Pickford was forced to make save after save before conceding that first goal. It was just
04:43far too defensive, far too soon from Thomas Tuchel, and his players suffered because of it.
04:48All four goals for Argentina came in the 90th minute or later in the knockout stage.
04:53So are you saying right now in England, because England, the whole story was World Cup drought.
04:59That was the whole story 60 years since they had won. The story in England is going to be
05:05Thomas Tuchel. They're going to be blaming the manager.
05:09They will blame the manager. And look, the players will always take responsibility. I'm not
05:13one to just say it's the player's fault, just the player's fault or just the manager's fault.
05:17You have to put responsibility and blame in equal areas. But I think for this situation
05:22specifically, Thomas Tuchel will take a lot of criticism for going too defensive too early.
05:29England were fairly comfortable for most of the game defending with their back four.
05:34Jed Spence was excellent. One of the best players on the field.
05:36had one of the best, had the best tackle in the entire tournament.
05:40Right after the goal.
05:41Right after they scored the goal.
05:42Right after they scored the goal.
05:43England was fairly comfortable for most of the game defending Argentina. And of course,
05:47Argentina was going to push numbers forward. But do you know the best tactic to kill a game
05:51off and to assure that you get a win? Score that second goal. Go on the attack.
05:55I thought that was the most dangerous lead in soccer.
05:57It is.
05:58But you would much rather score the second goal than not get it, particularly for this
06:02reason. And so it was, I think, really frustrating for neutrals and for English fans to watch
06:08that last 20 minutes and see wave after wave of pressure. I mean, you could tell that the
06:14game tying goal was coming. It was inevitable with the way that they were defending. Now,
06:20did they have any chances to run in transition, especially with Argentina pushing so many numbers
06:25forward? Yeah. Morgan Rogers had a chance in transition where he was going at the back
06:28line. You had Harry Kane overlap him on a 2v1. And yet he decides to take the shot on himself.
06:33It's in those moments where if you were going to get the second goal, you have to be more
06:37decisive in the final third. It was just, I don't want to call it a capitulation from England,
06:43because I think that would be taking too much away from Argentina and this weird magic that they
06:49have late in games. But it was certainly too defensive too soon.
06:53Lionel Messi being the GOAT, Argentina, the champs, shot it going back to back for the first time
06:58since 62. There's, it's a great story in the winning locker room. Always. And we have a lot
07:04of time today and in the lead up to an incredible World Cup final between Argentina and Spain to
07:10discuss it. Like there is no question that Messi and Argentina are going to get plenty of shine
07:14here. But I do think it is worth noting just the specifics of it, just to kind of put a
07:19bow
07:19on what Dax has been saying. If we throw up England's World Cup history since their win
07:24in 1966, they have been so close, so many times. Five times losing in the quarterfinals. Now
07:34this is three times losing in the World Cup semifinals. That's half of the World Cups since
07:391966 losing in the quarters or the semis. And in this one, they're up 1-0 and they give up
07:46the goals
07:47in the 85th minute and the 92nd minute. Pain. That will be described as a choke. I know you say
07:54capitulation and you want to give credit to Messi. They're going to get plenty of credit. But through
07:59the prism of English football and through the prism of a 60-year drought and the wins that they had
08:04had
08:05in this tournament, starting with that great win against Mexico and then in order to get here,
08:10it is the type of thing where the only reason, the only way they were going to view this World
08:15Cup
08:15as a success in England was if they won the World Cup. Absolutely. Now it will be viewed as, like
08:20one Team USA loss we did, was this World Cup a success or a failure for Team USA? They had
08:25great
08:26moments, but this is very clear. This isn't gray. This is black or white. This was a failure for
08:31England. They didn't win the World Cup and they choked away the semis.
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