Post-Match Press Conference: England's Thomas Tuchel On The 2-1 Loss To Argentina — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hi Thomas. Um, can I get your verdict on
2. 0:02on the game as a whole and why you felt
3. 0:06um the team relinquished maybe some of
4. 0:08the initiative after going ahead please?
5. 0:12>> Um, well I think it was a very close
6. 0:14match. I was happy the way we played it.
7. 0:17Very close match like I said and and we
8. 0:19had the moment and took it to our
9. 0:20advantage. Went one nil up. I think
10. 0:22that's what happens in these kind of of
11. 0:25matches that are totally totally even. I
12. 0:28think at that point of the match that we
13. 0:30it was also deserved not undeserved that
14. 0:33we that we take our moment and and go
15. 0:35one nil up.
16. 0:37Um unfortunately and and strangely
17. 0:40enough it it marked then complete
18. 0:42momentum switch in the game. Um,
19. 0:45Argentina played with more risk, played
20. 0:48with more rhythm, um, played with a
21. 0:51feeling maybe that they have nothing to
22. 0:52lose anymore, which freed them up and
23. 0:54hold us back because we've we obviously
24. 0:57played suddenly with a feeling that we
25. 0:59have a lot to lose. So we dropped
26. 1:01immediately back into a deep block which
27. 1:04is also not a problem but we could not
28. 1:06we we struggled to stay active in that
29. 1:08in that deep block and we struggled to
30. 1:11defend crosses in the deep block and we
31. 1:13struggled to get physical on the runners
32. 1:16into the box. Um Argentina then made
33. 1:19changes with with four strikers wide
34. 1:22wingers uh two strikers in the middle.
35. 1:25Um, so we try to trying to adapt to that
36. 1:29in a in a back five, which is a wider
37. 1:31structure and uh to to stop to to have a
38. 1:35shorter a shorter distance to to the to
39. 1:38the players that took the crosses. Um,
40. 1:42but it was difficult for us. Um, we
41. 1:45could not find any jewels. We could not
42. 1:47find any ball possession anymore. Um,
43. 1:50and um, yeah, couldn't get the momentum
44. 1:53back at all. and they took advantage of
45. 1:55that and and won the game.
46. 1:57>> Hi Thomas, good evening. Jonathan Gund
47. 1:59from Argentina. Do you think best team
48. 2:02wins the game?
49. 2:06>> Like I said, I think it was a total even
50. 2:09game and um and uh
51. 2:13um it's always the story is always told
52. 2:16from from the back. So if you see the
53. 2:18last half an hour, it was deserved for
54. 2:20Argentina. If you see the first 55
55. 2:22minutes, I think it's quite deserved um
56. 2:25that we are one nil up. Um like I said,
57. 2:27I think it's it's two completely
58. 2:29different matches, it's until the goal
59. 2:32and then after the goal. Um but in in
60. 2:35these moments, the harder the harder and
61. 2:38the bigger the defeat and and the bigger
62. 2:41the occasion, the the more pain you
63. 2:43feel. Um, of course, but it's important
64. 2:46to to to
65. 2:48first of all that you gave everything
66. 2:50which we did. Um, to respect the the
67. 2:54opponent and um and the achievement of
68. 2:58the opponent and the win of the
69. 2:59opponent. This is what's how sports is.
70. 3:02And the second which we also do and the
71. 3:05second one is then to bounce back like
72. 3:07always show a reaction learn from it is
73. 3:10what we have to do in the next month.
74. 3:12>> Okay. Thomas, in in this tournament, we
75. 3:14we've praised your decisions a lot and
76. 3:16and a lot of people have said they've
77. 3:18been what have got us here a lot of the
78. 3:19time. Tonight, there's a lot of
79. 3:21criticism about your decisions,
80. 3:23particularly the substitutions. Do you
81. 3:25do you believe you got it wrong?
82. 3:27>> No, I believe that's just the nature of
83. 3:29of the game. As soon as you lose, you
84. 3:32get criticized. It's just what it is.
85. 3:34And
86. 3:35um
87. 3:37um you get criticized after. No one
88. 3:40knows what would have happened uh if we
89. 3:42made different decisions. So it makes no
90. 3:45sense to engage in that and and and lose
91. 3:48my head. I'm I'm responsible for them. I
92. 3:50took them. So I take the criticism.
93. 3:52That's just the way it is.
94. 3:54>> Mike.
95. 3:54>> Hi Thomas. Um you've spoken a lot at
96. 3:56this tournament about the mentality of
97. 3:58the players. Um but tonight we've seen
98. 4:01it seems to be a very English thing that
99. 4:03we get to the latter stages of
100. 4:04tournaments, we get the first goal and
101. 4:06then we defend. Do you think there is a
102. 4:08problem or do you think it's just a a
103. 4:10football situation?
104. 4:13>> I love to see these things in in in a
105. 4:15football matter and through football
106. 4:17classes. So, first of all, I I always
107. 4:19think it's it's it's it's solvable on
108. 4:21the football field. Um I don't believe
109. 4:24so much in an English thing and in a
110. 4:26curse or whatever or like history
111. 4:29repeating itself in these moments. It's
112. 4:31just like it's it's different coaches,
113. 4:33different players, different situations,
114. 4:35different opponents. So I think
115. 4:37basically I believe in in the in the
116. 4:39football thing. Um which which for me
117. 4:44still as a football coach cost us today
118. 4:46because I I think we just we we were
119. 4:48just not active enough uh um in any
120. 4:52structure. We were not active enough in
121. 4:53our 442 and we were not active enough
122. 4:56later in a 432 532 and not in a 541.
123. 5:00Active meaning we didn't find any jewels
124. 5:03anymore. We didn't fight any any uh
125. 5:05activity anymore, you know. We couldn't
126. 5:07get close anymore to the to play on the
127. 5:09ball. That's why we couldn't get uh we
128. 5:11couldn't we struggle to defend the
129. 5:13crosses. Um
130. 5:16the positioning in the box was was
131. 5:18better then uh because we had per say
132. 5:20three central defenders but we didn't
133. 5:22stop the runners into the box. So is uh
134. 5:25we were not physical enough in the
135. 5:27second line. And this is no this is um I
136. 5:31still I think um you can you can defend
137. 5:33active in a 442. You can defend active
138. 5:36in in in any in any in any formation.
139. 5:38You can get ball possession in any
140. 5:40formation. We struggled we struggled to
141. 5:43stay active. Uh we could not get any any
142. 5:46ball possession to to escape the
143. 5:47pressure and and and to turn the
144. 5:49momentum around. So at the moment I
145. 5:52think uh I think in it as a football man
146. 5:55matter and I'm I'm a part of that. um
147. 5:58and and and tried to solve it from the
148. 6:01sideline. Um and yeah, sad and upset for
149. 6:05my players, of course, because we were
150. 6:07close.
151. 6:08It's just what it is at the moment.
152. 6:10>> Thomas Manuel Martin for Canalend.
153. 6:13Argentina had its back against the wall
154. 6:16against Cabo, Hipto, Sweden,
155. 6:20Switzerland. Sorry.
156. 6:22Why does it seem that Argentina has
157. 6:24always an extra life? And what role do
158. 6:28you think that the Argentina crowd
159. 6:30played at the game?
160. 6:32>> Well, the support is outstanding. It
161. 6:34felt like a felt almost like an away
162. 6:36game. Um, of course, but we knew that
163. 6:39and we matched it and I think it was
164. 6:41like like I said from us uh a
165. 6:44performance that we can be be be proud
166. 6:46of. It was a it was a big occasion. It
167. 6:48was a big opponent. We try to we try to
168. 6:52eliminate the the the world champions.
169. 6:54Um we try to eliminate an experienced
170. 6:57group of players in in tournament
171. 6:59football. Um I think that they play
172. 7:02their best basically when when they when
173. 7:05they go behind when they take a lot of
174. 7:07risk. Um you see the full quality on the
175. 7:09ball and they have a lot of ball
176. 7:10possession go through every gap and
177. 7:13they're just very very competitive. we
178. 7:16are also but um today they they took
179. 7:19advantage of of of the situation that
180. 7:22they basically I feel that they had
181. 7:24nothing to lose anymore so they invested
182. 7:26more they took a lot of risks and and uh
183. 7:29brought the best out in them um to our
184. 7:33to our disadvantage
185. 7:45professor
186. 7:47Argentina.
187. 8:14Yeah. First of all, the World Cup is not
188. 8:16over. It's still a match to play.
189. 8:19We're not looking so much forward to,
190. 8:22but there's still a match to play. And
191. 8:23then there's of course then we we keep
192. 8:26on going for contract until the home
193. 8:29Euros. And um I'm looking forward to
194. 8:31that even like now it's it's difficult
195. 8:33to look that far ahead. Um
196. 8:37uh I think in in the culture basically
197. 8:39of of the Argentinian team of South
198. 8:41American teams is is ball possession
199. 8:44plays a plays a crucial role. Ball
200. 8:47possession taught from a young young age
201. 8:50and it's in the DNA and it it demands a
202. 8:53lot a lot of self-confidence natural
203. 8:55self-confidence to always want the ball
204. 8:57to always be in the gaps to always
205. 9:00define yourself through the ball through
206. 9:02the ball uh possession. So I think
207. 9:04that's then a crucial thing to show the
208. 9:07courage to take the ball away from these
209. 9:09teams in the crucial moment when you're
210. 9:10under pressure. You need to get every
211. 9:12little decision right. You need to get
212. 9:14the angle, the body positions right. You
213. 9:16need to get your decision making right
214. 9:18and the little two against ones three
215. 9:19against twos to really overcome the
216. 9:22first line of pressure to not be
217. 9:24intimidated to not be physically then
218. 9:26also bullied because uh because
219. 9:28Argentina has uh of course in their
220. 9:30culture this this mix between being very
221. 9:32physical and and also strong on the
222. 9:34ball. Uh but listen, it's not the first
223. 9:38time. Like sometimes when when you
224. 9:40concede, it frees something up uh in you
225. 9:42and uh um you play with more freedom.
226. 9:46You play with um the mindset of that you
227. 9:48have nothing to lose anymore because
228. 9:49you're anyway down and and you regain
229. 9:51this momentum. This is what happened
230. 9:53today. Takes a lot physically and and
231. 9:56mentally and and a lot of football
232. 9:58courage to get out of this. We we we we
233. 10:01couldn't do it. We wanted to do it for
234. 10:03sure. There is no doubt that that the
235. 10:05players gave everything. They gave their
236. 10:07very best. You could see kind like that.
237. 10:10We were uh in moments also tired, tired,
238. 10:13struggling from players being sick,
239. 10:15injured, whatever. So, um yeah, it was a
240. 10:18mix of that and that's why we struggled
241. 10:20and got punished.
242. 10:21>> Last question.
243. 10:23>> Hi, Thomas. Sign Pet from the Press
244. 10:24Association. Um
245. 10:26you touched on it there, but how on
246. 10:28earth do you raise yourself and the
247. 10:30players for for for Saturday this the
248. 10:32match? which I guess nobody wants and
249. 10:34and and what was your message to the
250. 10:36players in the dressing room because it
251. 10:37feels like a
252. 10:38>> a missed opportunity once again?
253. 10:40>> Yeah, of course we have to wait four
254. 10:42years to get it back and it's in itself
255. 10:45an achievement. Of course, it's a
256. 10:47semi-final. A lot of lot of big big big
257. 10:49football nations are are eliminated
258. 10:52before the before the semi-final. So
259. 10:55yeah, it is an achievement. No one wants
260. 10:57to hear that at the moment. Me neither
261. 10:58because we we we are yeah we demand the
262. 11:01most of ourselves.
263. 11:03That's just the nature of of being
264. 11:06competitive. Um
265. 11:09um the nature of being so competitive.
266. 11:12Yeah. Also you you said it right. Puts
267. 11:15the next game into perspective. Nobody
268. 11:18of of these players nobody of French
269. 11:20players wants wants to play for this
270. 11:23match. They want to play in the final.
271. 11:25We gave everything to be in the final.
272. 11:27everyone plays to to to win the the
273. 11:29World Cup, but it is what it is. So, um
274. 11:32we have for a day less and and to
275. 11:35recover, but we will we will do it
276. 11:37professionally, of course. And and uh I
277. 11:40didn't say a lot. Everything what you
278. 11:42say in the in the the nothing what you
279. 11:44say in the dressing room can take away
280. 11:46the pain or the disappointment. Of
281. 11:48course, we all know these moments. So, I
282. 11:49said, let's take it with respect. Let's
283. 11:51take it with
284. 11:54uh let's digest it first. um accept the
285. 11:57except that we gave everything that is
286. 11:59um a big part in a defeat that we did we
287. 12:02do everything to arrive in this f uh
288. 12:04semi-final did we give everything um
289. 12:07100% uh we did and I think the fans and
290. 12:11and will will realize that and do
291. 12:13realize that the second of all is yeah
292. 12:16um to bounce back to react that's what
293. 12:20that's what you have to do on highest
294. 12:22level in sports that's what is demanded
295. 12:24and what we will do.
296. 12:25>> Thank you very