England manager Thomas Tuchel said he feels no regret over the decisions he made in the second half of the World Cup semifinal against Argentina last Wednesday, when his team was leading 1-0 but lost 2-1.

Tuchel faced widespread criticism for his substitutions and defensive tactics, as Argentina besieged England's penalty area before scoring two goals in the final minutes to qualify for the final against Spain tomorrow Sunday.

England faces France in Miami today to determine third place in the tournament, but the press conference held by Tuchel before the match was filled with questions about the semifinal.

Tuchel told reporters yesterday: 'If you are asking me whether I regret my decisions, and if that is the question, then I answer no. I do not regret my decisions because I felt that we became too passive.'

He added: 'I made several decisions based on trust in my instinct, intuition, experience, and competitive spirit, and I made the decision to help the team and achieve the desired result.'

He continued: 'I would have regretted it if I hadn't helped. I would have regretted it if we hadn't responded, but I feel no regret over the decision itself.'

Sweltering heat

Tuchel acknowledged that England's win over Mexico in the round of 16 in a high-altitude match and the victory over Norway in extra time in the quarterfinals in Miami's sweltering conditions, along with the team's extensive travel, may have taken a toll and negatively affected them.

The German coach stressed that viewing his substitution decisions purely from an offensive and defensive perspective is an oversimplification, and that the match in his view was more complex than that.

He said: 'No one knows the outcome of making other substitutions or different changes... And if there is a pursuit of excitement or a desire to blame, well, you can do that, but I have the right not to engage in it.'

Tuchel refused to respond when asked about a comment describing his substitutions as 'cowardly.' He said: 'I don't read praise and I don't pay attention to this type of comment... If we win today, we will achieve our best World Cup result in 60 years.'

'That is the perspective from which the matter should be viewed.' England won the World Cup in 1966 but lost its two previous third-place matches after semifinal defeats in 1990 and 2018.

Tuchel confirmed that he will make some changes to the lineup for today's match against France, which he considered an opportunity for England to show that it has closed the gap with the best teams in the world. He said: 'No one wanted to play tomorrow's match (today).'

He added: 'All four teams wanted to be in New York (to play the final), but it is an official World Cup match.'

He continued: 'It is a big match against one of the best teams in the world. This is our chance to prove that we really have what we have shown throughout the tournament. No doubt about it.'