US President Donald Trump has questioned England’s tactics in their 2-1 FIFA World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, suggesting manager Thomas Tuchel made a mistake by deploying captain Harry Kane in a defensive role after his side had taken the lead.
The White House threw its support behind England to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup following the United States’ elimination from the tournament.
Andrew Giuliani, a representative of the US on World Cup matters, said England would be a fitting champion after the co-host crashed out of the tournament.
According to the BBC on Saturday, Trump’s statement came amid growing criticism of Tuchel’s second-half tactical changes following England’s collapse against the defending champions, who scored twice late on to book a place in Sunday’s final against Spain.
Many important England players felt frustrated with the directives they got following Anthony Gordon’s first goal, as Tuchel transitioned to a back five and made defensive substitutions while Lionel Messi motivated Argentina’s revival.
In his remarks on Friday, Trump stated that Kane ought not to have been placed in a defensive position.
“You have a great player in England who I’ve played golf with. And he is Harry [Kane], who has been fantastic.
“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 defense.
“We got to be a little offensive, right? But no, I’m not going to call it that. What do I know about coaching? But that was a little unusual.”
Earlier, Tuchel brushed aside criticisms questioning his tactics after the loss.
Argentina produced a dramatic late comeback to beat England 2-1 on Wednesday and book their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, where the defending champions will face Spain on Sunday.
