England's senior players 'not happy' with Tuchel after three 'complained privately'

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A trio of

England

players are thought to have complained to

Thomas Tuchel

over his tactical decisions in the aftermath of the Three Lions being knocked out of the

World Cup

on Wednesday. The Three Lions made it all the way to the semi-finals of the tournament before they suffered

a cruel 2-1 loss to Argentina

.

While

Anthony Gordon

gave England the lead 55 minutes into the encounter, it appeared as though they immediately set-up to park the bus and hold onto a one-goal advantage, sitting in a low block. However, that was always going to spell disaster considering Argentina's attacking prowess.

The introduction of Nico O'Reilly, Dan Burn and Ezri Konsa further cemented that approach in the closing stages of the match. However, Tuchel was left a little short in terms of attacking options when Enzo Fernandez equalised with five minutes left to play.

It was only when Lautaro Martinez scored a towering header in stoppage time that Tuchel made the decision to bring on

Marcus Rashford

and Ivan Toney to try and level the match once more. But it was a case of too little, too late as England suffered a 2-1 loss in Atlanta, Georgia.

In the aftermath, a number of fans were quick to call for Tuchel's job due to his defensive approach during the fixture after going a goal up. However, the 52-year-old was even quicker to

reaffirm his commitment

to seeing out his contract, which runs through Euro 2028.

Tuchel also is said to have refused claims that he set up to park the bus in private, alleging that he told his starting XI to 'play higher up.' However, a number of England players are now said to have confronted Tuchel over his tactical decisions.

Sky Sports

reporter Rob Dorsett, said: "A lot of England’s players, and some of the senior players, I might say, are not happy with the decisions that Thomas Tuchel took," adding how six defenders were on the pitch at one point.

The

BBC

, meanwhile report that at least three players 'complained privately' about their approach in the closing stages of the match. It comes as Tuchel blamed an inability to retain possession as one of England's biggest problems in the semi-final match.

He said afterwards: "I think ball possession plays a crucial role. It’s maybe not in our DNA like it is in the Spanish, Argentinian or Brazilian DNA.

"To take the ball and control the game and the ball, which is also a big problem. But like in every structure, it was important to stay active and push out and fight duels...we just couldn’t.

"I think in this moment my feeling is that no structure in the

world

could have helped us because we were too passive. We were not physical enough.

"We didn’t stop runs arriving in our box and the deliveries were then too good. Right after our goal, the momentum swings completely in ball possession and chances and it drops dramatically.

"We got too passive within our structure. I tried to help, not to become more passive with a back five, but to be more active, to be quicker out to the wingers, not to open up the gaps between the back four.

"We encouraged everyone to step out, to be more active within the structure, but we just struggled. We needed to get back on the ball otherwise you cannot break the pressure and you cannot get the momentum back."

As a result of the loss, England will now take on France in a third-place play-off on Saturday evening. Argentina, meanwhile, will take on Spain in Sunday's final, as they look to defend the title they secured four years ago.

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