JOE HART has slammed Thomas Tuchel for showing a lack of belief in his substitutions as England lost to Argentina in the World Cup semi final.
The Three Lions were sent home after falling to a crushing 2-1 defeat to Argentina.
Anthony Gordon had put Tuchel’s side ahead to get fans dreaming of a first World Cup final since 1966.
But Tuchel, 52, then made a series of defensive substitutions by taking off Gordon for defender Ezri Konsa, while Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn followed suit 10 minutes later.
And the pressure invited on eventually saw Lionel Messi create the equaliser for Enzo Fernandez off a well-worked corner.
Messi then turned creator again as he clipped in a cross for Lautaro Martinez to net a heartbreaking injury-time winner.
But speaking on the BBC after the game, former England star Hart gave his verdict expressing belief that Tuchel did “not believe in his team”.
The former Man City keeper said: “Gareth Southgate will be at home watching this game, and he took a lot of criticism when it came to big moments with England when they had the lead and shutting up shop but I don’t see anything has changed in the big moment out there.
“For Thomas Tuchel, for all the praise we have given him, for him to change it as soon as he did.
“I think he realised he didn’t believe in his team, he didn’t believe they could land any more punches on Argentina.”
Fans were also left furious at the perceived negativity of the changes made in the game.
One supporter said: “I really like Tuchel but I’m not sure about these subs though.”
Another posted: “This is on Tuchel. Cowardly subs. Inviting this lot on to you only ends one way.”
And a third wrote: “Tuchel absolutely finished England with those subs.”
Hart made a point to acknowledge the effort of the players, explaining that he had been there before and wanted to express his gratitude for their effort.
Ultimately though, England will be forced to settle for a third-place playoff this Saturday, rather than Sunday’s final.