Neville rejects Tuchel's 'English DNA' blame after Argentina loss
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- Gary Neville publicly rejected Thomas Tuchel's claim that English football's 'DNA' was to blame for the 1-2 World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, saying the decision to leave Kobbie Mainoo on the bench while bringing on three defenders sent players the wrong message to 'hang on'.
- Neville highlighted Tuchel's omission of technical players Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Adam Wharton, Morgan Gibbs-White and Trent Alexander-Arnold, arguing the squad was built as a counter-attacking unit — the opposite of what Tuchel then demanded after going ahead.
- England led through Anthony Gordon early in the second half in Atlanta but conceded twice through Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez as Tuchel's side dropped deeper, sending World Cup holders Argentina into the final against Spain.
- Neville framed the collapse as a recurring 20-30 year England pattern of retreating into their own box in knockout games, admitting he was 'just as big a part of the problem' across his eight tournaments as player and coach.
- The FA is not considering Tuchel's position, according to Sky Sports News, with the German set to lead England into Euro 2028 after signing a two-year contract extension before the World Cup.
- Cristian Romero called Neville 'stupid' for describing his partnership with Lisandro Martinez as the 'best-worst centre-half pairing in the world'; Neville fired back that Argentina's centre-backs conceded six goals in four knockout matches and that Lionel Messi — not the defence — won the semi-final.
Why it matters: Neville's critique lands harder than most post-mortems because he named names — Mainoo benched, Foden and Palmer left at home — and tied those choices directly to Tuchel's 'DNA' excuse, exposing a contradiction the FA must live with as they confirm Tuchel stays on through Euro 2028 despite failing at the first elite-team fence.
