The inside story of how England’s World Cup unravelled: Self-inflicted wounds, Thomas Tuchel’s ‘what the f***’ outbursts, exhaustion pre-Argentina, sulking stars and players’ anger at defensive tactics

Steelman: both sides, in good faith

The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.

The case for

Tuchel faced an exceptionally strong Argentina side, and tournament management involves difficult trade-offs between attacking ambition and defensive solidity. His selection decisions—including leaving out Foden and Palmer—would have been informed by detailed fitness and tactical assessments that external observers cannot fully evaluate. Argentina's quality may have made the outcome inevitable regardless of tactical approach, and his reference to squad mentality reflects legitimate concerns about elite-level mental resilience and ownership of performance.

The case against

Tuchel's management created a visibly dysfunctional environment marked by angry outbursts, widespread player discontent, and a defensive tactical approach that lacked attacking ambition in a semi-final. Excluding key creative talents in such a match suggests poor selection judgement that top football nations would not make. Rather than taking responsibility for these failures, his subsequent comments blamed players' mentality rather than acknowledging his own tactical limitations or the management errors that contributed to the exit.