Gary Neville said he has “a big problem” with Thomas Tuchel blaming English football’s “DNA” for the Three Lions’ World Cup defeat to Argentina.
The German came under fire after bringing on Ezri Konsa and switching to a back five, inviting Argentinian pressure that ultimately led to England losing 2-1.
Despite Argentina scoring twice within a few minutes of the changes, Tuchel turned his comments to England failing to retrieve possession, saying: “You need to get back on the ball; otherwise you cannot break the pressure, and you cannot get the momentum back.
“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.”
Neville took aim at Tuchel following his suggestions, saying on the Stick to Football podcast: “I did think that he’ll 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.
“His quote [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’.
Gary Neville said he has ‘a big problem’ with Thomas Tuchel’s ‘DNA’ comments
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“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.”
England had just 12 per cent of possession after going ahead, as the Three Lions set up shop trying not to concede.
Tuchel blamed ‘English football’s DNA’ for why the Three Lions could not keep the ball well
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Former England striker Peter Crouch suggested the Three Lions were too dependent on their star players throughout the contest.
He said: “Maybe we were a little bit over-reliant on individual brilliance, we weren’t peppering teams, it was Jude [Bellingham] or Harry [Kane] who stepped up when we needed it most.
“When you watch Spain play, they’re just dominating teams.
“I never felt we were in complete control of any game, but we’ve got players who can create moments from nothing.”
England will play in the third-place play-off on Saturday after losing to Argentina
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Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane weighed in, saying that despite the drastic changes, he “still believes Argentina would have found a way”.
Keane stated: “This idea that if England had been a bit more open, even at 1-0, and started attacking, you’d be saying: ‘Why didn’t you shut up shop, you’re leaving too many spaces’.
“These brilliant teams find a way to win, and that’s what they did.
“The manager will get criticised for the subs, of course, and maybe it was a negative move bringing on defenders, so he has to take that.”
