Gary Neville picks apart Thomas Tuchel’s ‘English DNA’ comments after World Cup exit
England were beaten by Argentina in the World Cup semi-final with Gary Neville reacting to comments made by Thomas Tuchel
Gary Neville has had his say on Thomas Tuchel’s ‘DNA’ comments
Gary Neville believes that Thomas Tuchel will have regrets about the manner of England’s exit at the World Cup. The Manchester United legend also disagrees with some of the comments made by the Three Lions boss after the defeat to Argentina.
England suffered a 2-1 loss to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday night, with Tuchel’s tactics after Anthony Gordon’s goal being the subject of criticism in the aftermath of the defeat.
The Three Lions held a 1-0 lead until the 85th minute, when Enzo Fernandez equalised and Lautaro Martínez went on to score the winner for Argentina.
Tuchel spoke after the game about English football’s ‘DNA’, responding to criticism about the response after Gordon found the back of the net.
“I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball.,” Tuchel said.
In response, Neville has argued why he disagrees with Tuchel’s comments and questioned some of the substitutions made by the England boss.
Speaking on the latest Stick to Football podcast, Neville said: “I did think that he’ll [Tuchel] look back and think, ‘Did I send the right message to the players after the goal went in?’, putting three defensive players on before he brings on an attacker.
“I’m saying this in a non-explosive manner, he [Tuchel] will regret that. I think he gave the players a message to hang on, and they were dropping deeper in the box, and he didn’t really help them get out with the substitutes he put on.
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Tuchel’s tactics have been widely criticised, while he has suggested players didn’t stick to the plan(VCG via Getty Images)
“His quote today [was] ‘It’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish DNA, or the Argentinian or Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game.’.
“I have a big problem with that. He didn’t bring Kobbie Mainoo on, who could handle the ball better than most. He didn’t bring Bukayo Saka on, who could probably handle the ball better than most. But he also left Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton, Morgan Gibbs-White and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home, technical players. He’s left out what would be generational talents.
“Thomas Tuchel is German, he’s not supposed to bring the English mentality, he’s supposed to bring the German mentality of winning.
“The main comment I’ve seen today, other than people saying he should be sacked, that he bottled it, which I think is going too far, is that this guy was brought in with a German mentality, to bring us the steel and the coldness and the ruthlessness in the big moments.”
England will now prepare to face France in Miami on Saturday in the third-place play-off fixture to complete their World Cup campaign.
