​How cowardly Thomas Tuchel threw away England’s World Cup in semifinal collapse to Argentina originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.It seemed that England had one foot in the World Cup final. They did, until suddenly they didn’t.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Three Lions snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, absorbing yet another kick to the groin on the biggest stage. It’s the latest in a long line of painful defeats since England won the 1966 World Cup, enduring heartbreak after heartbreak.It felt like 2026 could be the year football finally came home, as Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham hauled the Three Lions to the semifinals. When Anthony Gordon put England 1-0 up shortly after the second-half restart, Tuchel’s side seemed to be on their way.And then, Tuchel decided not to kill off the game, but instead retreated into his shell against the tournament’s greatest comeback specialists. To the surprise of no one, Argentina happily snatched the chance to stage a reversal, with goals in the 85th and 92nd minutes putting them through.The Sporting News explains how Tuchel bears the weight of this defeat and why the result betrays everything the German was hired to do.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMORE:Player ratings for England vs. Argentina in World Cup semifinalsTwenty-seven minutes. That’s how long Tuchel expected England to survive in a low block against Argentina, who were beginning to compress the Three Lions back into their own half. That’s how long Tuchel thought his side could last up one goal against the greatest player of all time.As arrogant as Didier Deschamps was to believe France could make no fundamental changes against Spain, Tuchel was deluded. They did it against Mexico at the Azteca down a man, but to do so against the defending World Cup champions — even at full strength — is another task entirely.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs Argentina began to dominate in midfield and squeeze England back into their own half, the 52-year-old German coach made no changes until he brought on Ezri Konsa in the 72nd minute, replacing England’s goal-scorer Gordon.It was the equivalent of waving the white flag. Inviting Argentina to attack you late is like opening the cage while diving with sharks. When you get bitten, you have no one to blame but yourself.And Argentina bit, not once, but twice. From Gordon’s opening goal to Lautaro Martinez’s winner, Argentina held 88 percent possession to England’s 12.It’s not like the England coach couldn’t have seen this coming. Argentina have not led in the 90th minute of any knockout match at this World Cup. They needed extra-time winners against Cape Verde and Switzerland, and they scored the winning goal in stoppage time against Egypt. And here we sit, having watched Tuchel openly invite Argentina to do it a fourth time.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter Konsa, Tuchel brought on Dan Burn and Ni