Argentina will be the saddest team from this World Cup, no doubt. But the 2nd saddest team will be England. In the semifinals, France got completely outplayed by Spain and lost. But when Argentina went against England, it was England who practically gifted Argentina the game. And according to Megan Rapinoe, a certain England manager would never let this happen.

“It’s the classic snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. All I really have to say is, ‘Emma Hayes would F***** never.’,” said the ex-USWNT star, comparing the former US Women’s manager to Thomas Tuchel.

England were just 35 minutes away from booking their spot in the World Cup for just the 2nd time in their history, but everything fell apart after they took the lead. 

Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute strike had pushed Thomas Tuchel’s side toward the final against Spain. But then Argentina took control, or rather England gifted Argentina control of the game. Messi and co went on to score twice in the last 7 minutes and put England out of their misery by knocking them out.  

Since that collapse, there have been a lot of comparisons, and one of them has now started with Emma Hayes. We have heard Megan Rapinoe praise the USWNT coach’s calm leadership and ability to inspire her players as the main reason why they were able to win so much. 

And Rapinoe recently said that Hayes’ confidence spreads naturally throughout the team and gives every player belief. Those comments have led many fans to wonder whether England’s semi-final might have unfolded differently if it was Hayes in charge.  

While nobody can know that answer, the contrast between Hayes’ and Tuchel’s game management is impossible to ignore. 

Tuchel defended his decisions of going defensive after the defeat, saying that England never intended to protect their 1-goal advantage.  

“We encouraged everyone to step out, to be more active within the structure,” Tuchel explained.

He also wanted to introduce extra defenders because Argentina players had started to press so well that England could not keep the ball and constantly kept losing it in the midfield. 

So Tuchel decided the players were going to drop deeper and defend. But instead they lost possession, couldn’t defend even with tall players like Dan Burn, and eventually conceded goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez to kill the game. 

Emma Hayes has also shown tactical flexibility throughout her career, but her biggest strength has always been protecting momentum.  

During the Olympic campaign, the United States won games by pressing their opponents, defending well at the back, and hitting back on counters, exactly what Tuchel’s side tried to do. Hayes trusted players fitting her system instead of chasing big names, highlighted by leaving Alex Morgan off the Olympic squad.  

That approach paid off when USA won the Olympic gold and added another major medal in her managerial career. 

We are talking in hindsight, and no one can confirm that England would have played the final if Hayes was there in place of Thomas Tuchel. Because football is not as simple as we think it is. But the contrast is that Hayes has played pragmatic football and won, because she had players who fit her system.  

The question is whether Tuchel had the same, and if he didn’t, the blame is on him because he was the one who chose the squad for the World Cup, leaving out names like Trent and Palmer.