England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina has drawn an unexpected voice of criticism, with US President Donald Trump questioning the tactical decisions of manager Thomas Tuchel.
Trump spoke at Trump Tower on Friday during a reception, suggesting England made an error by using striker Harry Kane in a defensive capacity during the closing stages of the 2-1 loss.
“You have a great player in England who I’ve played golf with. And he is Harry [Kane] who has been fantastic,” Trump said at the event.
“I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player. What do I know about soccer? They took the lead, and they took their best player and put him on defence.”
Trump added: “We got to be a little offensive, right. But no, I’m not going to call it, what do I know about coaching? But that was a little unusual.”
Tuchel was quick to brush off Trump’s criticisms when they were put to him at a subsequent news conference, though the comments are likely to intensify scrutiny of his second-half approach.
The German manager reverted to a back five and made several defensive-minded substitutions late on, despite England having taken the lead through Anthony Gordon.
Argentina, inspired by Lionel Messi, scored two late goals to secure a dramatic comeback victory and set up Sunday’s final against Spain at 20:00 BST.
BBC Sport reported Thursday how a number of England’s key players were left disappointed by the instructions given to the squad during the final stages of the match.
Tuchel’s substitution choices have drawn widespread criticism from both pundits and supporters in the aftermath of the defeat, with many believing England surrendered control unnecessarily.
Trump also addressed the controversy surrounding USA striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension, which was dramatically lifted by Fifa ahead of the last-16 tie against Belgium.
Balogun, 25, had been shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic, which carried an automatic one-match ban before Fifa intervened.
“I was forced to call Gianni [Infantino]. I said ‘Gianni, I’d like to make a recommendation. Let the guy in the game!’ No, I didn’t say that. I said I’d like to wage a complaint,” Trump said.
He added: “And actually I had no idea what was going to happen, but you know it is so much better the way it worked out because there is no controversy.”
Trump also described the tournament as “the most successful sporting event, maybe in the history of the world,” and offered warm praise for Fifa president Gianni Infantino throughout proceedings.
Infantino responded by declaring this was “not just the greatest World Cup of all times,” but “the greatest human, social and cultural event that mankind has ever witnessed.”
Trump’s public praise of Infantino’s handling of the Balogun case is expected to deepen one of the tournament’s most damaging controversies, reinforcing suspicions of political interference in Fifa’s disciplinary process.
Infantino has previously denied that Trump’s lobbying influenced the decision to lift the ban, maintaining that Fifa’s disciplinary committee operates independently of outside pressure.
