Former England star Wayne Rooney said that his country's national team players lost confidence in themselves due to the changes made by Thomas Tuchel in the second half of the match that ended in defeat against Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals.

England took the lead in the second half with a goal scored by Anthony Gordon, who was substituted by Tuchel, who brought on the defensive trio Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, and Nico O'Riley in the last 20 minutes.

The England national team was negatively affected by these substitutions, as the Argentine team equalized with a goal by Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute, before Lautaro Martínez scored the winning goal in stoppage time to give the defending champions a ticket to the final, next Sunday.

Many feared the defensive approach of the England team and their failure to maintain the lead, which led to defeat in the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia and defeat in the Euro 2020 final against Italy, subjecting former coach Gareth Southgate to heavy criticism.

England fell again under Southgate's leadership to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, leading to sharp criticism of the English coach's style, and the attack now turns to his German successor Tuchel.

Rooney, former England and Manchester United star, said on BBC: 'If I'm a striker in a team that is leading by a goal, and I see the coach making defensive substitutions, I would lose confidence in myself, because you can't keep up this defensive approach.'

He added: 'Then I would think a lot, we will drop back for a long time, how will we get through that?'

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For his part, former England goalkeeper Joe Hart made tactical comparisons between Southgate and Tuchel, saying: 'I think Southgate watched this match from his home. He was heavily criticized in crucial moments when leading the score, as well as in big matches with England, due to his defensive plans,' adding: 'I don't see any change in that regard.'

Hart continued: 'Despite much praise for Tuchel's work, his change of plans shows that he lost confidence in his team, and that he could no longer pose any threat to Argentina.'

For his part, Alan Shearer said on BBC: 'I pointed out our reliance on 6 defenders, and Tuchel tried to hold on, but it's completely different from facing Norway and Mexico, because they are not as strong as Argentina in terms of possession, determination, and taking chances.'

Shearer explained: 'Tuchel played his cards early hoping to hold on, but his decisions backfired, and such decisions sometimes make the difference.' He stressed: 'We praised Tuchel against Mexico, but now the situation is different, and the question arises about the decline in the team's physical condition; the players looked physically and mentally exhausted as soon as Argentina scored the equalizer.'

Rooney returned to say: 'England wasted the opportunity to go for a second goal, and they looked very scared.'

He continued: 'You can't take the lead with a goal and then give up the initiative or the pursuit of a second goal, because that should be your aim.'

Rooney emphasized that 'you must show initiative and pressure Argentina to get back into the game, because intense pressure on the ball carrier and making runs into the spaces behind the defenders will make them feel your danger.'

Rooney concluded: 'If you allow special players like Argentina's stars to control the ball in your penalty area, they will score a goal without a doubt.'