England won the bronze medal at the World Cup after defeating France in an exciting match that saw ten goals, yet fan discontent with manager Thomas Tuchel is growing.

Anger still dominates English fans after the defeat to Argentina last week, and the win over France was not enough to quiet the criticism directed at Tuchel.

Tuchel's appointment as manager of the 'Three Lions' was based on a promise that he would make a difference in big matches.

When that promise evaporated, only anger remained. This exposed the falsehood of Tuchel's appointment process, and a federation that covers up coaching development flaws by trying to game the system through spending huge sums on hiring a foreign manager.

So what is the FA's vision? The initial idea was that Tuchel would deliver a swift, decisive shock, and his tactical brilliance would lead England to win the World Cup. Then a change occurred after the World Cup qualifying campaign against modest opponents.

The FA changed the game by giving Tuchel a contract extension, and suddenly winning the World Cup no longer seemed as urgent.

However, the idea of Tuchel as a leader for building the team seemed far-fetched during the fierce criticism he faced after the defeat to Argentina. After being criticized for his negative substitutions when England were leading 1-0, the German manager spoke contemptuously about 'English genes', expressing regret that English players cannot hold onto the ball well. This might seem logical because it's a longstanding weakness for the England team, but didn't Tuchel himself cause some imbalance by excluding most of the players with great skills from his squad? Would the situation have been different if Adam Wharton, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Cole Palmer had been in Atlanta? Perhaps not, but huge sums were spent on developing a different type of English player in recent decades.

England players and the sorrow of a disappointing semi-final exit against Argentina (AFP)

Perhaps Tuchel was thinking of 'old English genes'. But maybe this is part of the problem with hiring a foreign manager focused on winning at all costs. This is the third time England has taken this path. There is a perception that foreign managers have great experience, but Sven-Göran Eriksson was not as tactically astute as Glenn Hoddle.

Eriksson played traditional 4-4-2, while Hoddle was flexible in his formations. Tuchel has also failed to build a distinct identity. He seems to cling to an outdated English style.

Tuchel wanted to play like Premier League teams, relying on speed and physical strength, but this has rarely succeeded with England, which often fails against opponents in big knockout matches, especially regarding possession and short passes. That's why there has been a big focus in youth football on developing players more in tune with the dominant Spanish passing style.

Spain just won the World Cup again, with their style stronger than Argentina in the final, but the striking thing is that both finalists were led by local managers. Luis de la Fuente and Lionel Scaloni gradually rose through the youth and junior teams, and they are an integral part of an integrated system.

Each has great passion for his country and a deep sense of identity. As for Tuchel, he was appointed in the hope of covering up the FA's failure to prepare competent coaches.

No men's national team led by a foreign manager has ever won the World Cup, and the FA should be concerned that bringing in a foreign manager seeking immediate success will lead the senior team to adopt a completely different style of play from the way the younger teams play.

There is a prevailing opinion in youth coaching circles that Tuchel has set England back in this tournament.

England's Under-21 team won the last two European Championships thanks to their courage in possession, beating Spain in two consecutive tournaments, and Lee Carsley encourages his players to take risks in possession.

As for Tuchel, he played a pragmatic style, and England ended up unable to take risks. Indeed, this tournament confirms that relying on famous club managers is not a guarantee of success. Brazil appointed Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti but went out in the round of 16, Roberto Martinez failed with Portugal after clinging to Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mauricio Pochettino suffered a humiliating defeat for the US team against Belgium.

Tuchel, who defended his tactical plans, expresses joy with his coaching staff after winning the World Cup bronze (Reuters)

Scaloni progressed through coaching roles with the national teams before winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022.

Similarly, de la Fuente won the European Under-19 Championship with Spain in 2015 and the European Under-21 Championship in 2019. He contributed to player development, and after moving up to the senior team, he won the European Championship at senior level in 2024. The Spanish team has shown great progress; the players who defeated Argentina in the final played in youth teams under de la Fuente. This does not mean that England's next step should be to appoint Carsley, who has not shown he has the qualifications to coach the senior team when he served as interim manager between Gareth Southgate's departure and Tuchel's arrival. However, Carsley is closer to playing the Spanish way and has shown that the English are capable of playing with a degree of risk.

This is worth considering by the FA as it evaluates England's performance in the World Cup. In the current situation, Tuchel will go into another tournament. There are challenges to overcome, but finishing third is not a sufficient reason for dismissal. In any case, the FA has no other idea, and hopefully Tuchel will achieve better results in the Nations League. But he must move away from this physical style.

De la Fuente knows the identity of the Spanish team well because he is part of it and rose through the youth and junior teams, unlike Tuchel, who criticized the English identity!

In his attempt to defend his tactical plans, England manager Tuchel expressed hope that his players would one day remember winning third place with pride despite not achieving their goal of winning the tournament. Tuchel said: 'This is the first medal in 60 years and England's best World Cup performance on foreign soil. So I hope the players are proud of that at some point.'