Thomas Tuchel, the head coach of England, praised Argentine star Lionel Messi following the Three Lions' loss to Argentina in the 2026 World Cup semifinal, emphasizing that the Argentina captain has the ability to decide matches at any moment.

Tuchel said in his post-match comments: 'Messi can explode at any minute. He is a silent killer; he can kill you while walking.'

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Regarding his team's performance, the German coach stressed that he feels no regret despite the elimination from the tournament, noting that England played one of its best matches in the World Cup. He added: 'I feel no regret; we played one of our best matches in the tournament, perhaps the best.' Tuchel acknowledged that his team dropped off after taking the lead, explaining: 'After going 1-0 up, we were too passive.' He also defended his decision to switch to five defenders, saying: 'I decided to resort to a defensive formation with five players because there were too many gaps, and Argentina was winning every header.' The England coach concluded his remarks by defending his tactical decisions, stating: 'If things don't end well, it's easy to say my decisions were wrong.'