​Gary Lineker took aim at Thomas Tuchel for his “unfathomable” and “astonishing” tactics as he questioned the future of the England manager following defeat by Argentina at the World Cup.Anthony Gordon put England ahead in the 55th minute of the semi-final, but he was soon withdrawn by Tuchel, who brought on defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O’Reilly in the final 20 minutes. Enzo Fernández equalised in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martínez struck a stoppage-time winner to earn a 2-1 win for Argentina.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRaising doubts over Tuchel’s future as manager in the wake of the defeat, Lineker said: “Tuchel signed a new contract before the World Cup, but I just wonder what that position will feel like for him now. He was brought in to take us over the line.“Is he the right man to take us forward? I never ask for anyone to get sacked, but it depends on him and how the FA feels. Are we satisfied with a semi-final?”The perceived negative substitutes and approach have triggered a torrent of criticism and former England captain Lineker, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast on Netflix, added: “This one seems really, really hard to take.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We went a goal up, they sat deep. The substitutes he made, made that even deeper. It turns to five at the back and you’re going, ‘we will play a low block’ against a team who are good against it.“It made zero sense to me. Tactically it was astonishing, to be perfectly honest. It was a negative move. We all sat there watching the same game saying the same thing.“I found it absolutely unfathomable that you’ve got a tactic, you’re playing against the greatest footballer there has ever been. Get tight to him [Messi]. He whipped ball after ball after ball into the box.”Lineker then joked Tuchel was a “German spy” sent to scupper England.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I jest, but I wonder if Thomas Tuchel is a German spy,” he said. “We’ve been infiltrated. I think Germany, because they’re not very good at the moment, can’t get past the group stage, and then they’ve sent in someone… I mean, I am joking.”Pundit Joe Cole lamented the “same old problems” and said a fear of failure “paralyses” English teams.“We can talk about tactics and substitutions, it comes from the manager ultimately, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.Patrick Vieira, a fellow pundit and former France captain, said: “I am a fan of Thomas but he got it wrong. If he played the game again, he would not make the same changes.”Wayne Rooney was scathing in his assessment of England’s exit and said: “The decisions Thomas Tuchel has made, we have to be honest, have cost us tonight.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“If you’re an attacking player on that pitch and you go 1-0 up, and you see the changes which the manager’s making, you’re losing belief, there’s only so many times you can get away