Prince Harry believes England’s World Cup dream slipped away because of the team’s mentality and not tactics.
Appearing on James Corden’s Fox Sports show with former England defender Rio Ferdinand, the Duke of Sussex defended head coach Thomas Tuchel after the national team lost a 1-0 lead and was eliminated in a 2-1 semifinal defeat to Argentina.
He rejected the suggestion that Tuchel instructed his players to retreat. “It’s mindset,” Harry said. “I think what we saw was a slight shock value for them. ‘S**t, we are 1-0 up against Argentina,’ and there was this immediate temptation to fall into defence.”
“I don’t think it was a tactic. I don’t think that was the plan. It just happened,” he added. “After 72-73 minutes, whatever it was, you can’t just defend a 1-0 lead against a team like that. You just can’t. The mindset is the belief. The fact that you are 1-0 up, believe that you can be 2-0 up.”
Meanwhile, Tuchel is being criticized for his late substitutions and leaving attacking players like Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford on the bench throughout the match.
England was on course to reach their first men’s World Cup final since 1966 after taking a second-half lead. However, in the 85th and 92nd minutes, Argentina turned the World Cup match around by scoring.
Despite the backlash, Tuchel refused to second-guess his decisions at a press conference (via BBC). “If you’re asking if I regret my decision… I don’t regret my decisions,” the coach said before the team’s third-place playoff.
He continued, “I took several decisions, trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience… We didn’t get the result. So I take, of course, the responsibility.”
He admitted that England became “too passive” after taking the lead and stated, “There is no one to blame.” Tuchel took full responsibility for the outcome and asserted, “If you need someone to blame, I take the responsibility. I’m the head coach.”
Tuchel also pointed to the team’s demanding tournament schedule. They had a draining match against Mexico and another exhausting one against Norway, but he stressed that the players were always committed.
“We feel the most pain of all, and it is our scar that we carry now,” he said. “We will overcome it, we will use it, we will have a reaction.”
