Thomas Tuchel responds after Donald Trump calls out his tactics in criticism of England following a World Cup semi final defeat to Argentina.
The United States President has caused a stir after questioning Harry Kane’s second-half “defensive” role when talking during an exclusive FIFA World Cup 2026 Reception at Trump Tower in New York City.
England’s Thomas Tuchel has now reacted when Trumps’ criticism of England’s performance against Argentina was brought up during a press conference ahead of the ‘bronze’ final against France.
Two points to make:
1) The fact that DONALD FUCKING TRUMP could see the problems with England’s tactical shift should be a gigantic nail in the coffin.
2) Look at that absolute spanner laughing with him like a court jester. Toe-curling. pic.twitter.com/NyZr16yc37
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) July 18, 2026
Trump said: “We’re gathered tonight in New York City as we await the final face-off on Sunday between the two amazing teams, Spain and Argentina.
“I watched that pass that Messi made and not knowing as much as the people in this room, but I know about sports and I know about a little bit about soccer, but I watched Messi and he was well guarded, right? Well guarded. And all of a sudden he’s standing on the right. Do you understand what I’m talking about?
“I don’t know if any, I didn’t, I just noticed it. Nobody talked about it. I just noticed it.
“I said, “He’s so well guarded by a great player.” And then he moved to the right and the other player was just standing there and he had plenty of time. He kicked it. It was within I would say a quarter of an inch of being perfect and that was the end of the game. It was brilliant.
“And these great players, they seem to do that over and over again. They’re just born with something extra special. I know that Ronaldo is one of them. I got to know him over the years and he’s a great guy.
“You have a great player in England who I played golf with. You know that, right? And he he is Harry who’s been fantastic. I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player.
“What do I know about soccer? They they took the lead and they took their best player and they put him on defence.
“Then somehow, you know, we got to be a little offensive, right? But no, I’m not going to call it. Look, what do I know about coaching?
“But that was a little unusual. But Harry is a great guy, actually.”
‘Is Trump your witness?’: Thomas Tuchel responds to the U.S. president’s criticism of England’s performance against Argentina.
Donald Trump questioned the captain’s tactics, saying he ‘put his best player on defence’.
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 18, 2026
Tuchel responded following Trump’s comments: Question: Hey Thomas. Since the semi-final, there’s been a lot of narrative and a lot of opinions on how England finished the game on the pitch in terms of the setup. On reflection, you’ve had 48 hours to um, think about it. Donald Trump’s even had a word about it today and had his opinion today. On reflection, 48 hours after, how do you…
Tuchel: Do you use Donald Trump as your witness for the case or?
Interviewer: No, no, no, no. I’m just saying he’s had his opinion asking. But on reflection, how have you how do you view the last 35 minutes of the game?
Tuchel: I view them in the same way. I view them in the same way that we were too passive. We got too passive. If you are asking if I regret my decision, if this is the if this is the question, then say no, I don’t regret my decisions because I felt that we become too passive. I felt that the momentum switches in the match and I tried to help my team. I tried to help. I tried to support. I took a decision trusting I took several decisions trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience, trusting my competitiveness and I took the decision in order to help the team and get the result. We didn’t get the result. So I take of course the responsibility and for these decisions. But the decisions are made under stress. The decisions are made in-game. This is in-game life, life coaching. I would regret if I didn’t help. I would regret if we didn’t react, but I have no regrets over the decision itself.
Thomas Tuchel ‘defiant’ and ‘wounded’ reflecting on England’s World Cup semi final defeat
Here’s the social media reaction as Thomas Tuchel responds after Donald Trump calls out his tactics in criticism of England…
@Shaun20747542: Actually feel sick watching this. How the fuck has happened to the sport i love.
@liononsea: He has no idea what he’s talking about of course, but I suppose it’s written for him. He’d probably never actually heard of football before April. Having said that, our tactics were pathetic and embarrassing.
@Joe_Citrone: Thanks for your analysis, Mr President. So interesting and useful to hear the thoughts of someone who didn’t know what a red card was two weeks ago. 👍
@thejacketosc: The fact Trump is publicly questioning his (Tuchel) tactics speaks volumes and a swooning Infantino next to him is not a great look for FIFA, still at this point I think we’ve all concluded that FIFA is being run by at best idiots and worst cheats.
@NickDixon: Trump was the first to notice Messi had moved to the right and was unmarked. He should take over from Tuchel.
@DPJHodges: Love Tuchel’s response here. Though to be fair to Trump, his football analysis is superior to Lee Dixon’s…
@BetWrightUK: We’ve even got Donald Trump slagging off Tuchel 😂😭 Just when it couldn’t get any worse…
@XtraLeicester: Even someone who knows so little about football knows England got that so badly wrong
@NealGardner_: Good lord… this might be a new low for Tuchel and his lads 😂
