Guardian football writer Jacob Steinberg argues that Thomas Tuchel needs to abandon an outdated, physical English playing style and trust his technically gifted players, after England's World Cup campaign ended in recrimination following their semi-final collapse against Argentina. The piece contends that Tuchel's approach exposed the emptiness of the FA's decision to hire an expensive foreign coach to paper over its own coaching development failures, with the manager blaming "English DNA" for a lack of care in possession despite having left several of England's best ball players out of his squad.

Steinberg notes England could still claim bronze by beating France, but that would do little to quiet criticism after the Argentina defeat, during which Tuchel was criticised for negative substitutions while England were leading. The article draws parallels with previous foreign England managers, contrasting Sven-Göran Eriksson's rigid 4-4-2 with Glenn Hoddle's tactical flexibility, and points out that World Cup winners Spain and finalists Argentina were both led by homegrown coaches, Luis de la Fuente and Lionel Scaloni, who rose through their federations' systems. No male England team led by a foreign manager has ever won the World Cup, the piece observes, questioning whether the FA's win-now approach with an outsider can succeed.