Donald Trump's bizarre criticism of Tuchel: 'Why did you put him in defence?'

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FT Desk

United States President Donald Trump has questioned the tactics of England manager Thomas Tuchel following the Three Lions' elimination from the 2026 World Cup this week.

In the semi-final between England and Argentina on Wednesday, Tuchel's side took the lead thanks to a wonderful cross from Morgan Rogers and a neat finish from Anthony Gordon.

However, thereafter, they became an attacking non-entity and allowed Argentina a path back into the game by sitting deep and soaking up pressure.

In one 18-minute period in the second half, they remarkably completed just two passes, with star players like Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane nowhere near the Argentina goal where they could potentially impact the game.

Towards the latter stages, Tuchel made a statement of intent by bringing on two defenders, Dan Burn and Ezri Konsa, for Gordon and Reece James. Declan Rice was then brought off for Nico O'Reilly.

Trump on Harry Kane:

I played golf with Harry Kane, and he is a great guy.

I think perhaps they made a mistake when they made him a defensive player. They took their best player and put him in defense.

That was a bit unusual. pic.twitter.com/yZTfFPqsx9

— Clash Report (@clashreport) July 17, 2026

Argentina smelled blood and eventually equalised five minutes from time thanks to a long-range strike from Enzo Fernandez, but more heartbreak was to come for England as Lautaro Martinez scored the winner with a header in the 92nd minute. Lionel Messi assisted both of the goals.

Tuchel has come under major criticism for attempting to park the bus and losing anyway, and now Trump has even questioned the tactics, in particular, why Kane was used as a 'defensive' player instead of up the pitch.

"You have a great player in England, who I played golf with, you know that, right?" Trump said at a press conference on Friday.

"Harry, he’s been fantastic.

"I think they perhaps made a mistake when they made him a defensive player, but what do I know about soccer? They took the lead and they took the best player and they put him on defence.

"We got to be a little more offensive, right, but no, I’m not gonna call it.

"Look, what do I know about coaching?

"But, it was a little unusual. Harry is a great guy, actually."

"Do you use Donald Trump as the witness for your case, or....?" pic.twitter.com/naXGr4CpFA

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 18, 2026

Kane revealed before the England versus Argentina game that he and Trump had played a round of golf together last year.

Tuchel was forced to respond to a question about Trump's criticism but was in no mood to fully engage on the subject, simply replying to a reporter:

"Do you use Donald Trump as the witness for your case...or?"

The German's time in charge of England may end after this tournament due to the semi-final failure but he'll at least have one more match in charge as the Three Lions face France in the third-place playoff on Saturday evening.

FIFA are officially calling the fixture the 'Bronze Final'.