England had almost reached their ultimate goal of bringing 6 decades of waiting for the FIFA World Cup final to an end. Thanks to Anthony Gordon's goal in the second half of the match, the Three Lions had the lead, and Thomas Tuchel was all set to hold on to it.
However, the plan was about to blow up in his face since Argentina managed to pull off two goals and take away the victory.
Argentina was indeed very good throughout the match, but England had committed several mistakes, which led them to a losing situation.
Inviting Too Much Pressure
Once at the top, England stopped pursuing new goals. Instead of seeking another goal, Tuchel asked his players to sit back and let Argentina take control of the game for the last half an hour.
Switching To A Back Five Hurt England
The greatest point of discussion came at the end of the match when Tuchel opted for a more defensive formation by fielding five defenders to protect their slim advantage. However, this move backfired on him.
Adding another defender negated England's ability to apply pressure further up the pitch. The midfield players were no longer in contact with Kane, which allowed Argentina to pass the ball around the penalty area without any real effort.
The pressure finally bore fruit with Enzo Fernández hitting a terrific long-range shot to equalize the match, while Lautaro Martínez sent the ball into the net during injury time. The tactical changes made by Tuchel were heavily criticized by pundits.
Lack Of Ball Retention
England had difficulty in retaining possession once they got into a defensive mode. Rather than play the game at a slow pace by passing the ball well and carefully, England surrendered possession of the ball in several attempts to clear it out of their defensive third.
The team allowed Argentina to hit England with one opportunity after another because they surrendered the ball repeatedly.
Both Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham found themselves having to play a lot deeper than usual, which meant that they were unable to support Harry Kane when the team was trying to break through.
Messi Punished Every Mistake
England had done an admirable job limiting Messi's influence for much of the contest, but defending so deep against arguably the greatest playmaker of his generation was always a dangerous strategy.
Given time and space around the edge of the box, Messi dictated the closing stages. He helped engineer the equaliser from a cleverly worked set-piece before delivering the pinpoint cross that Lautaro Martínez converted for the winner.
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A Painful Lesson For Tuchel
Tuchel's pragmatic approach had earned England victories throughout the knockout stage, but the semi-final exposed its biggest weakness. Rather than killing the game with possession or searching for another goal, England became increasingly passive.