Wayne Rooney, former Manchester United star, heavily criticized German Thomas Tuchel, England manager, after the 2-1 defeat to Argentina on Wednesday in the 2026 World Cup semifinal.

Rooney insisted that Thomas Tuchel was "asking for trouble" with his defensive substitutions.

The Three Lions led Argentina until the 85th minute, but collapsed late in the match and lost 2-1.

Anthony Gordon broke the deadlock in the 55th minute, and afterward manager Tuchel sought to close down his defense against the opponent.

England's coach brought on Ezri Konsa for Gordon in the 72nd minute, then called upon Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly to replace the injured Reece James and Declan Rice.

On Tuchel's changes, Rooney said in comments reported by The Sun: "We put ourselves in a very good position and didn't know what to do."

He added: "We dropped back, let them put pressure on us. They put us under pressure and the team collapsed. As soon as they scored the first goal, it was inevitable they would score the second."

He continued: "When you're ahead, you have to hold your lead. We go ahead, then drop back, make changes, play with five or six defenders. If you let Messi and Argentina attack you, you're bringing trouble on yourself."

Enzo Fernández scored a brilliant long-range goal in the 85th minute, while Lautaro Martínez finished the match with a header in the 92nd minute.

Tuchel brought on Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford in the 96th minute, but the damage was done.

Rooney added: "These fans spent a lot of money to be here. I expected more in this match. Argentina are world champions. We knew that would be the difference."

He concluded: "The changes we made didn't work. We're very frustrated. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to win these tournaments."