England have shown resilience at this World Cup, rallying from behind to beat DR Congo in the last 32 and Norway in the quarter-finals.
But former captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport that holding off Norway or Mexico is very different to facing Argentina, whose technical quality and ruthlessness are on another level. He added that Thomas Tuchel made his moves far too early, and it backfired.
England looked in complete control of the semi-final against their old rivals when Gordon opened the scoring.
The celebrations were wild in the stands—then England retreated and tried to protect the lead.
Chris Sutton called it “a coaching catastrophe” on BBC Radio 5 Live, pointing the finger squarely at Tuchel.
He argued you simply cannot sit in for half an hour against a side with Argentina’s firepower.
Sutton said the blame rests with the coach for negative changes and questioned whether Tuchel is the right man to lead the team forward.
England’s history against Argentina is littered with painful moments.
From Diego Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ in 1986 to the 1998 World Cup defeat, the wounds still sting.
This time, though, England have only themselves to blame for Wednesday’s collapse.
Joe Hart told BBC Sport that while Norway and Mexico lost their composure against England, Argentina never flinched. He saw belief, a plan to free Lionel Messi between the lines, and a team overrunning England.
He drew a parallel with past criticism of Gareth Southgate for shutting up shop with a lead in big games, saying little seems to have changed in the key moments.
So what exactly were the substitutions that angered supporters?
At 1-0 up, many anticipated Tuchel would push for a second goal. Instead, he opted for three defensive switches.
Konsa replaced Gordon in the 72nd minute as England moved to a back five, and 10 minutes later Burn and O’Reilly came on to further shore things up.
Rashford and Toney were introduced late on, but the impact came too late to change the outcome.
Wayne Rooney said that once the changes were made at 1-0, if Argentina found an equaliser, England were unlikely to survive to extra time.
Former defender Micah Richards added that after scoring first, England needed to chase a second; by sitting deep, they allowed Argentina to dictate the game.