Ex-England stars blast coach's tactics after World Cup semi-final loss

England's World Cup semi-final exit has drawn sharp criticism from former national team stars Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, who lambasted coach Thomas Tuchel's tactical decisions in the loss to Argentina. England took the lead in the 55th minute through Anthony Gordon, but Tuchel's subsequent substitutions, bringing on defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, and Nico O'Reilly in the final 20 minutes, proved disastrous.

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If you are an attacking player on the pitch, and the team is leading 1-0, and you see the coach making those kinds of substitutions, you will start to lose confidence.

Argentina capitalized on England's defensive posture, with Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martinez scoring within seven minutes to secure a stunning comeback victory. Rooney, now a BBC pundit, described Tuchel's strategy as "panic" and "unwise." He argued that substituting an attacking player after taking the lead signals a loss of confidence and invites pressure.

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That was panic, utter panic. You can't lead and then give up trying to get the second goal because that should have been your objective, to keep attacking.

"You can't go ahead and give up the chance to go for the second goal," Rooney stated. "That was panic, utter panic. You can't lead and then give up trying to get the second goal because that should have been your objective, to keep attacking. The pressure was actually on Argentina, they were the ones who had to equalize, to keep pressing, they would have felt the pressure."

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Look at how Spain played yesterday when they were leading 1-0, that's courage, that's bravery. And look at England's performance when they were leading 1-0, what's the difference?

Owen drew a stark comparison to Spain's performance the previous day, where they defeated France 2-0. "Look at how Spain played yesterday when they were leading 1-0, that's courage, that's bravery," Owen posted on social media. "And look at England's performance when they were leading 1-0, what's the difference?" He expressed disbelief at the defensive substitutions, questioning the message sent to the players and stating that England, whom he believed to be the superior team, "deserved to lose."

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I had no doubt that we were a stronger team than Argentina, but in the end, we deserved to lose.