Who was really to blame for England's World Cup exit: Tuchel or the players? Have your say

In the end,

the semi-final

was the limit.

From the outset, not just of the tournament but ever since

Thomas Tuchel

was hired to replace

Gareth Southgate

, England's World Cup ambitions have been crystal clear: Win the bloody thing.

The former

Chelsea

,

Bayern Munich

and Paris Saint-Germain boss was, initially, handed a big-money 18-month contract where the sole focus was on winning the World Cup, 60 years on from the Three Lions solitary triumph. And while the FA and Tuchel

extended their agreement pre-tournament to take in Euro 2028 too,

the goal this summer remained the same.

But when it came to the crunch, the real crunch - we're not talking

second round struggles against DR Congo

or

last 16 trips to the Azteca

- England, as has so often been the case in recent years, were found wanting. For Croatia 2018, Italy 2021, France 2022 and Spain 2024, add Argentina 2026. Once again, when they found themselves facing a team to whom they were widely considered either equal or slightly inferior to, it was the end of the road.

Since the defeat in Atlanta,

there has been no shortage of criticism, much of it pointed at Tuchel and his substitutions. After all, he took the decision to go ultra defensive with his changes.

But is it all down to the manager? What of

the players,

who at 1-0 elected to stop pressing high and started dropping deeper, ceding possession and retreating to the edge of their 18-yard box BEFORE any subs were made?

"When we went 1-0 up we seemed to try and hold on, which at this level is not enough," admitted

Harry Kane

. At 1-0 up, footage shows Tuchel and his No.2, Anthony Barry, instructing players to push forwards - while subs on the sidelines tell the XI on the field to drop back.

So what do you think? Was Tuchel the biggest reason for England's semi-final demise? Was it the players who ultimately couldn't do what was required? Or does fault lie somewhere in between?

Have you say right here in our

Mirror

poll:

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