Rooney identifies the "culprit" responsible for England's loss to Argentina, denying them a place in the 2026 World Cup final.
Wayne Rooney, the legendary England striker, harshly criticized Thomas Tuchel as the cause of England's 1-2 defeat to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semifinal, blaming Tuchel's early shift to a defensive approach after taking a one-goal lead.
Rooney said, "It was panic. It was complete panic. We were leading 1-0 and then suddenly we played defensively. You have to attack when Argentina is coming back into the game."
"If you are on the pitch, leading 1-0, and you see the manager making substitutions... you start losing confidence. You begin thinking, 'Are we going to defend? How will we get through this?'"
"We were in a very good position, but we didn't know what to do. We defended and let them come forward. They created several chances, and we made mistakes. It was really disappointing."
"For me, Thomas Tuchel made the decision, and when you make a decision, it's a risk. The risk he took was using five defenders, which allowed them to control the game."
"We must honestly accept that Thomas Tuchel's decision caused us to lose tonight."