Wayne Rooney tears into Thomas Tuchel for ‘asking for trouble’ with his substitutions as England collapsed in heartbreaking Argentina World Cup semi-final defeat

Wayne Rooney led criticism of Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions inside EnglandWorld Cup semi-final defeat followed by the Three Lions losing to Argentina.

England took the lead with Anthony Gordon in the 56th minute, but preferred to keep their advantage instead of increasing it.

Tuchel went to a back five that served him well in the last 16 win over Mexico, with Ezri Konsa joining Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guehi and Djed Spence as the striker in the 72nd minute.

They found themselves defending and Dan Burn was later brought on when Reece James left the field injured.

England were under great pressure at that time and Enzo Fernandez and then Lautaro Martinez broke English hearts once again by scoring goals.

Speaking after the game, Rooney became emotional and said England were unable to cope with the pressure to progress in the game.

“We got ourselves into a very good situation and we didn’t know what to do,” he said on the BBC. ‘We sat back and let them come at us. They put us under pressure, we cracked. After conceding the first goal, it was inevitable that they would score the second goal.

‘When you get to the top, you have to stay at the top. We go 1-0 up, then we sit back, make changes, go back five or six. ‘If you let (Lionel) Messi and Argentina get to you, you’re asking for trouble.’

He later added: ‘When we had the ball we had no way out. We kept kicking for a long time.

“When Tuchel made these changes the players on the field would think ‘no’. They knew what was going to happen. They would need a huge amount of luck to see the game finish.’

England had found success with their defensive formation when they were reduced to 10 men against Mexico, but faced a tougher task against the world champions.

The likes of Messi managed to take more control of the game and England suffered the consequences.

Former Three Lions goalkeeper Joe Hart added: ‘They went back to what they did against Mexico and Norway and locked the door. but that freed up Lionel Messi and he absolutely ran the show for the final 15 minutes.

‘Once the first goal was scored and England made the changes they made, everything was going to go one way.’

Tuchel made defensive changes while the Three Lions were ahead and his team lost 2-1.

Alan Shearer admitted Tuchel’s changes cost his side the game, with England struggling to create chances even after falling behind.

The Three Lions will now face France in the third-place play-off on Saturday.

‘What has worked so many times throughout this tournament, the manager’s decisions and going back to five, backfired in the last 10 or 15 minutes. They are leaning against the wall and can’t get out. “They were punished.”

Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane said after full-time that ‘trying to hold on’ is not enough at this level.

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