'Should have carried on pushing!' - Marc Guehi appears to question Thomas Tuchel's tactics after England's World Cup semi-final collapse vs Argentina

Guehi has claimed that England should not have played so defensively after taking the lead against Argentina. Anthony Gordon had put England ahead on 55 minutes, only for late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez to turn the contest on its head in the closing stages.

"Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is just not enough, so I'm gutted," the Manchester City defender said in comments highlighted by The Sun. He went on to add: "We should have carried on. We should have carried on pushing. It kind of felt like we scored, and then the mentality was go back and defend."

Asked whether this England group is capable of finally getting over the line at a future tournament, a subdued Guehi admitted he could not look that far ahead in the immediate aftermath of the defeat. "I don't know. I don't know. It's hard to think about the future right now," he said. "At this moment, it's just disappointment. That's all."

Tuchel's side had just 12 per cent possession between Gordon's opener and Martinez's 92nd-minute winner, with the England boss shifting to a 5-4-1 formation during that period by introducing Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn and Nico O'Reilly. The tactical switch has drawn heavy criticism from a host of pundits, including Wayne Rooney, with Guehi's comments suggesting the sentiment was shared within the squad.

"The decisions Thomas Tuchel has made, we have to be honest, have cost us tonight," Rooney said. "If you’re an attacking player on that pitch and you go 1-0 up and you see the changes which the manager’s making, you’re losing belief, there’s only so many times you can get away with it.

"Then you start thinking, Oh no, we’re going to sit back for this long; how are we going to get through this? It’s a panic; it’s a real panic; You can’t go a goal up and then surrender the ball and surrender any opportunity of going to try and get the second goal, because that’s what you want to do."

Despite the mounting criticism, Tuchel struck a defiant tone after the match, pointing to the achievement of reaching the semi-final stage. "We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros. I'm looking forward to that even though right now it's difficult to look that far ahead," the German said. "A lot of big football nations are eliminated before the semi-final, so it is an achievement. No one wants to hear that at the moment; me neither because we demand the most of ourselves. That's just the nature of being competitive."

Tuchel signed a two-year contract extension in February, tying him to the role until Euro 2028, and is said to retain the full backing of the FA. The former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain boss has won 16 of his 21 games in charge, drawing two and losing three.