00:00Tuchel 100% invested in leading England at Euro 2028 despite semi-final failure.
00:06Thomas Tuchel says he is 100% committed to leading England at Euro 2028 and finding the
00:13extra level for glory that eluded his team at the World Cup. The manager is under fire for
00:19the manner of Wednesday's 2-1 semi-final defeat in Atlanta. His switch to a back five for the
00:25final quarter at 1-0 up did not work, Argentina scoring two late goals to advance into Sunday's
00:32final against Spain. Argentina's Lionel Messi crosses the ball for Lautaro Martinez to score
00:38the winning goal against England. England had Lionel Messi under control until one decisive
00:44and subtle shift. Read more. Tuchel maintains the system was not the problem, rather it was the
00:50passivity of the players after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the 55th minute. He
00:55lamented England's inability to get on the ball and control the game, suggesting it was not in
01:00their DNA to do so. The Football Association hired him to solve this issue, among others,
01:06and the pain of familiar failings continues to pound. But Tuchel, who signed a contract extension
01:12in February to carry him through the Euro 2028 campaign, remains determined and retains the
01:18FA's backing. Asked whether he wanted to take the team forward in the next two years, he replied,
01:24yes, 100%. There is still enough to improve, and I am more than happy to do that. I've loved every
01:31day of the World Cup. I said after the quarterfinal win against Norway that I see a disconnect from
01:36what I see in training on a football level and within the games. We can impose ourselves more on
01:42the ball. We can show what good football players we are. That is still in us as I see it
01:47in training
01:47and in every camp, and here also at the World Cup. I still feel there is an extra level that
01:54we need
01:55to conquer. We need to step up to the next level to get the big prize. At the FA, there
02:00is a measure
02:01of satisfaction at how the team made it to the semifinals and realism. Two, when the draw was made,
02:07it was considered to be tougher than at previous tournaments under Sir Gareth Southgate,
02:11starting with a group that contained Croatia and Ghana. The FA acknowledged the peril of a potential
02:17run from the last 16 to the final that took in Mexico in the altitude of Mexico City, Brazil,
02:24Argentina, and Spain or France. In the event, it was Norway, not Brazil, in the quarterfinal.
02:30The governing body was also acutely conscious of the situational and logistical challenges,
02:36especially the heat and travel. When England arrived in Atlanta for the Argentina game,
02:41it was after their 13th flight since the beginning of the tournament. All this after a grueling Premier
02:47League season for most of the squad. There is the hope that a European championship, which England
02:52will co-host, can be more straightforward. The FA's chief executive, Mark Bollingham,
02:58was quick to show his appreciation after the full-time whistle against Argentina.
03:02It is heartbreaking to be so close, he said. The players and Thomas gave it everything and the squad,
03:08coaches and staff could not have worked harder during the tournament.
03:12I would like to thank them all.
03:14Tuchel was damned by the optics of his retreat into the back five when he sacrificed the pacey
03:20outlet of Gordon for the extra center half in Esri Kansa on 72 minutes. But he argued that the
03:26rod had set in before then, specifically after Gordon's goal, when the team were in their usual 4-2-3
03:33-1
03:33formation. One of the turning points came in the 64th minute when the Argentina manager,
03:39Lionel Scaloni, replaced the defensive midfielder Leandro Paredes with the left winger Nico González
03:45and moved to 4-2-4. Scaloni went all out in the 81st minute as England still led,
03:51withdrawing the left-back Nico Tagliafico and introducing the striker, Laudaro Martinez.
03:57It paid off, Martinez scoring the stoppage time winner. England had only 12% of the possession
04:04between the Gordon and Martinez goals. We got too passive within our structure,
04:09Tuchel said. I tried to help for us to actually be more active in a back five,
04:14to be quicker out to their wingers. We encouraged everyone to step out, to be more active but we just
04:20struggled. We couldn't find any duels anymore, which was why we dropped deeper and deeper. It was
04:25never the plan, but it happened. We couldn't stop the runners from the second line, the midfielders
04:31threw our gaps. And their deliveries were on the highest level. We needed to get back on the ball
04:36otherwise you cannot break the pressure and you cannot get the momentum back. We just couldn't
04:41cope with the momentum swing. Ball possession plays a crucial role. It's maybe not in our DNA like it is
04:48in
04:48the Spanish DNA or the Argentinian or Brazilian DNA to take the ball and control the game. It's also not
04:55a problem to defend deep. You can stay active, but we struggled. We struggled physically as well.
05:01Through the whole tournament, playing in the heat, playing in the altitude, against Mexico,
05:07and with a man down after Jarrell Kwanzaa's red card. It cost us a lot in the end. We gave
05:13everything
05:14but it was not enough. My feeling is that no structure in the world could have helped us
05:19because we were too passive. We were not physical enough. We didn't stop runs arriving in our box
05:25and the deliveries were then too good.
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