Pardew delivers five-point verdict on Tuchel's tactical errors in England's 2-1 defeat to Argentina

England’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina has drawn a sharp critique from former Premier League manager Alan Pardew, who accused Thomas Tuchel of a series of tactical errors that cost the Three Lions a place in the final. Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in the 55th minute, but Enzo Fernandez levelled with five minutes remaining before Lautaro Martinez clinched victory for the defending champions in added time.

Pardew, who has managed 318 Premier League games across five clubs and notably worked with Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni during his time at West Ham United, framed his assessment as an “FA report” on England’s performance. Speaking on talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacobs show, the 64-year-old broke his verdict down into five points.

His opening observation was relatively measured, crediting Tuchel for setting England up to play “positive” football and describing the introductions of Morgan Rodgers, Djed Spence and John Stones as “justified”. He also noted that England’s first-half shape had been effective, with Fluminense winger Anderson successfully tasked with tracking Lionel Messi.

From there, however, Pardew’s analysis grew increasingly critical. His second point centred on Scaloni’s preparation, arguing that the Argentina manager would have studied exactly how Mexico and Norway had failed to hold leads against England. “There’s no way he wouldn’t have gone over those facts,” Pardew said, drawing on his direct experience of working with Scaloni. He noted that Argentina responded by overloading the flanks and delivering dipping crosses into the England box, with the goalkeeper and the post keeping the score level before the eventual breakthrough.

Pardew’s third and most pointed criticism targeted the 72nd-minute substitution that replaced Gordon with Ezri Konsa. “Right there was our biggest mistake,” he said. “No offensive substitution at that time. Playing a semi-final, and we didn’t use Saka, by the way, who was fit, to give us an outlet. So no tactical tweak to control possession and clear our box.”

The remaining points in Pardew’s breakdown continued to focus on what he saw as Tuchel’s failure to manage the game once England had taken the lead — a succession of defensive changes that, in his view, handed Argentina the momentum they needed to turn the match around.

The defeat ends England’s World Cup campaign at the semi-final stage, with Argentina advancing to defend their title in the final.