‘The anger continues because this was a wasted opportunity’

Henry Winter’s World Cup Diary, Day 31

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Journalists have many jobs after such results. Within an hour of full time, I had first put in my match report, done Radio 4 with the whistle (and you know it’s a tough event when they’re involved), did a podcast with the legend Tim Vickery and posted two short reaction videos online. Usually, there’s a cathartic element to that, almost therapeutic in getting all the feelings about the performance and the result out of my system. Not at this time. The anger continues.

It continues because this was a wasted opportunity. Consider this quote: “They were more afraid of leaving the competition than excited and hungry to win it.” Thomas Tuchel’s words came back to haunt him. This was the take of the new England coach against England under Gareth Southgate in an interview with ITV on March 20, 2025. Tuchel was preparing to take England for the first time against Albania at Wembley. He pointed out that England is very afraid of winning Euro 2024.

Indeed, they were cautious when it mattered most, and much of the criticism for that was leveled at Southgate. And yet here in Atlanta England were defending deep again, defending the lead again, failing again. And Tuchel was primarily responsible for it with his defensive backs.

Of all the stats that shocked Tuchel’s coach in the second half they only got 12% in the 37 minutes between Anthony Gordon’s goal that put England ahead and Argentina went ahead again.

Thirty-seven minutes that cost England the chance to reach the finals of the World Cup. Thirty-seven minutes of doing nothing, sitting out, defenders coming in, and hoping to hold on.

Tuchel should have been the best coach who drove away the fear. Instead, inject it into a team that needed a front-foot approach. Gordon’s departure robbed England of the out-ball. Tuchel commented on the defensive problems. How dare you blame the players. Themba Tuchel admits how he missed out.

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Is it time for Harry Kane to retire? No. Having disappointed in Atlanta, Kane is still England’s best in attack. He probably still has Euro 2028 in him, at 34. But the 2030 World Cup will be more. This is one of the reasons why England fans are so angry about this wasted opportunity.

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A lot of research goes into preparing goalkeepers for penalties. So it was interesting to see pictures of Jordan Pickford’s water bottle attached with details on how to react when each Argentinian player serves a penalty. “Fake left – dive right” was Pickford’s advice to Lionel Messi. “Dive left” was Pickford’s command when he faced Gonzalez Montiel. Defender Hugo Lloris dived to the left against Montiel in the 2022 final – and the Argentina defender had already passed the ball the other way. He also went to the right of Roma goalkeeper Bono in the 2023 Europa League final win over Sevilla. Not all advice is accurate.

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Interest in the third place play – now the bronze medal match – remains limited. El Losico. There may be interest in Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot but little else. They fell from $1900 to $767 to $691 in the space of five hours last night. If that continues the ticket could cost less than the official FIFA sanctioned car park of $250. And he still has 23 minutes to go to Miami Stadium.

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I walked out of the stadium surrounded by a sea of ​​blue and white. It was a flood of people from Argentina fans in their Messi shirts. What was most noticeable was how many families and couples there were. It’s good to remember that when people criticize the support of the Argentines as a bunch of Malvinistas hating the British. My friend who supports England and I went back to our hotel and he, very sportingly, stopped a few Argentinians on the way to congratulate them, and wish them well in the final. They were completely endearing, almost comforting, in return. Good luck to them when they face the Spanish.

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All of this is a huge marketing opportunity for MLS. Having one of their players, Lionel Messi of Inter Miami, as the star of the World Cup, especially on their soil, is a revolution and they will definitely use it to promote the league. Messi can win the World Cup again, and take home the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot. MLS still needs to convince the majority of the US public. Messi can help that challenge.

Check out Henry Winter’s entire World Cup Diary here