Downing Street backs calls for Fifa to investigate Argentina players over Falklands banner
Downing Street has backed calls for Fifa to investigate whether Argentina players broke rules by waving a banner in support of their country’s claim to the Falkland Islands at the World Cup.
No 10 echoed remarks made earlier by Business Secretary Peter Kyle that the governing body should “thoroughly” probe the behaviour of the defending champions after they beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s match in Atlanta.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”
The official said any potential action is a “matter for Fifa”, but asked whether the Prime Minister agrees with his Cabinet minister that there should be an investigation, they replied: “I would echo that position.”
Asked whether Downing Street agrees with Kyle’s characterisation of the behaviour as an “egregious violation” of the rules, she added: “Any action taken is a matter for Fifa, I’ll leave it for them. I’d point you to the business secretary’s words this morning.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called for the Argentina players seen holding the banner to be suspended for Sunday’s final against Spain. Article 34.3 of the tournament’s rules prohibits the display of any political messages or slogans by players before, during or after a match.
Argentina were fined by Fifa after holding up a banner with the same slogan after a friendly against Slovenia in 2014.
Key events
“On Tuchel,” begins Adam Blackwell, “I think this point is worth making clearly: the swing of momentum to Argentina happened after Gordon’s goal and before Tuchel’s first sub. So Tuchel is not guilty of handing control of the game to Argentina so much as failing to seize it back once Argentina had already taken control.
The sequence of subs, though, was still bizarre. My incredibly strong prior is that there’s no chance your median English fan is going to make better decisions than a manager as smart and experienced as Tuchel. On the other hand, I can’t remember a time when the conventional wisdom — in real time, not only with the benefit of hindsight — appeared to be so emphatically validated.”
I guess I accept the basic fact of the point, but it’s Tuchel who was preparing England for the game. He picked a conservative squad, his game-model was based on out-physicalling the opposition rather than out-playing them, and he clearly didn’t trust the one technical midfielder he deigned to select. He created the environment in which his team retreated so, while there’s plenty of blame to go around and no need to be sparing, I can’t let him off what happened even before the specific interference.
On which point, I couldn’t help but look at how Thomas Tuchel treated Kobbie Mainoo and think of Glenn Hoddle’s experiences for England, as well as the Golden Generation choices. At the time, England had two pass-first, technical midfielders – Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick. Scholes was shunted to the left to accommodate Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, two wonderful players but neither of them a central controller, while Carrick hardly played at all. They did start him against Ecuador in the second phase of the 2006 World Cup, he was their best player in a 1-0 win only to be dropped for the next game.
Don’t get me wrong, I looooove a blood-and-thunder midfielder, examples of one below – though Bryan Robson, like Roy Keane, was also a playmaker ion a way Gerrard and Lampard were not – but at elite level, games tend to be decided by the team which dominates the middle of the park. That’s why Spain have been and are so good, just as it is the main reason PSG have won two Champions Leagues in a row.
More generally, I really enjoyed the Croatia game, but after that, though Mexico was exciting, I found watching England a frustration because they were so much less good than they should’ve been, the mistakes being made so avoidable, obvious and likely to cost them in the end. This was a massive missed opportunity – though I didn’t think they’d have have a great chance against Spain, absolutely not with three units charging about the midfield.
Thanks Luke and hi again everyone. Luke will be elated to know I agree with him on Wharton, even if he doesn’t clap his hands as vigorously as Jordan Henderson. I do, though disagree that a semi-final defeat is fine for England – to begin with, but absolutely from 1-0 up against that Argentina side.
Somehow, I’ve made it this far (the end of my blog stints) without mentioning my belief that Adam Wharton should have been in Tuchel’s squad.
But, you know, Tuchel is the one picking the team, a semi-final defeat is actually fine, and I enjoyed England’s World Cup overall, even if last night was a particularly sore one.
Now, Daniel Harris is back!
A sample question, from those already posted for Nick Ames …
Harry Kane. What’s the point of having a captain on the pitch if all he ever does is line up for the coin toss and moan at the ref occasionally? Shouldn’t he be the guy who recognizes in the heat of battle, that just maybe, someone should get closer to Messi and demands that one of his teammates does so? Even if it means deviating from the manager’s instructions, a captain in the true sense of the word would know to do so. Everyone gets so emotional about who the captain is, but they never actually do anything.
You can post your own question for Nick, of course, and he should kicking off the Q and A shortly.
Rich in Newcastle emails, regarding an earlier reader comment: “In no world is Dan Burn superior to Harry Maguire.”
“I beg to differ, if Dan Burn hadn’t have been included in the squad, he’d have wished the lads well and got behind them team. Maguire instantly ran to the press crying about it before the squad had even been released. Tuchel was obviously aware of such character flaws.”
“Argentinian here,” emails Daniel.
“Do you genuinely care about a banner saying that the islands are ours, when you know full well that they are yours? Wouldn’t this be like your wife’s jilted ex-boyfriend holding a sign that says “she will always be mine“ when both you and her barely think about that guy anymore, except when he shows up with these theatrics? Wouldn’t the commensurate answer be to roll your eyes and move on with your first-world lives?
“Additionally, you would not give a damn about this if you had won the game yesterday. Shouldn’t that give you pause as to whether or not this dramatic hand-wringing is an appropriate response?”
“Post-England-calamity coverage” is exactly what we’re doing here, by the way, thanks for that Oliver.
Come to think of it, I can’t believe I haven’t employed the phrase “surveyed the wreckage” even once, so far today.
“Why have we not had the once-cherished National Grid half-time cuppa-tea kettle surge stat yet?” writes Oliver.
“This used to be a staple of post-England-calamity coverage, and I for one want it back.”
Great question Oliver. I guess the national grid is just in perma-crisis these days, so it’s not the same:
Josh emails: “An Egyptian friend of mine says that on Egyptian Twitter, they were ‘roasting the coach for days after we lost for subbing in two attackers at the end instead of defenders. That didn’t work either’.
“Which is a fair point: Egypt were also up against Argentina, subbed in attackers, and lost by one goal. Tuchel was up against Argentina, subbed in defenders…. and lost by one goal. Now England isn’t Egypt, blah blah blah, but it is at least somewhat of a counter-example.”
I agree. We all love to believe that if only we’d been in charge, it would have been different. It’s fantasy thinking of the highest order.
Well, Argentina have just scored, it’s 1-1, and that’s quite enough punishment for one day.
Here is Billy Munday with Football Daily:
They say never go that far back. In the last half an hour of their end-of-days Geopolitics World Cup semi-final with Argentina, England committed to the bit in the Deep South. No wonder there were gaps. Thomas Tuchel stood and watched national trauma unfold in front of his eyes as towering aerial threats such as Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martínez beat his four centre-backs to cross after cross. Forget the ghosts of ‘66, the spectre of Southgate loomed over his successor as realism reared its ugly head at the business end of an England men’s major-tournament run once again.
It’s the 84th minute, as I continue to re-watch the end of last night’s match. And somehow, England are still winning 1-0. The more I watch, though, the more I think the responsibility for all this can’t rest purely with Tuchel. This is a collective failure of astonishing proportions and I’m unconvinced that alternative substitutions would have seen it end any differently.
Tuchel applies the finishing touches in the 82nd minute: Rice and James off, Burn and O’Reilly on.
“No need to go into specifics on the nightmare of last night,” emails Andrew. “But surely with Newcastle having a mare in the window and our strength being attacking, it’s peak time for Eddie Howe to come in?”
Here comes Lautaro Martínez. He isn’t very good. Nothing to worry about.
Rogers nicks the ball off Messi in midfield and England, at last, offer something in attack – but the Villa forward smacks a shot straight at a defender with better options either side. (79min)
I do suspect though, that even if Tuchel had made some “offensive” substitutions, the overall fatigue affecting the England ranks would have seen Argentina come out on top anyway. They look spent, collectively, while Argentina are growing ever-stronger (just like Croatia did, just like Italy did).
(And yes, I know we all found Tuchel’s substitutions offensive …)
Mac Allister thumps the post with a header on 76min … England are very much there for the taking, it’s hard to believe it’s nearly 10min before Argentina actually manage to score.
Don’t forget! Get your questions in for Nick Ames here:
Nick will be around from 4pm BST/11am EDT.
Montiel and De Paul come on for Argentina by the 73rd minute … Scaloni twists, Tuchel sticks.
The manager can only do so much. There was a lack of a leader on the pitch. The captain, the centre backs, and/or the goalkeeper should have ensured that all 11 players did not defend further and further back.
Both goals were poor for a team defending with 11 players to concede. The first allowed a shot at goal unimpeded with Bellingham belatedly charging at him. The second allowed a free header close to goal. There was little effort to disrupt the continual flow of balls into the area. Why didn’t Kane or Bellingham try to disrupt that flow? There was an inevitability that Argentina would score, as they had several chances, but the tactics remained the same. At 1-1 is was inevitable that Argentina would score again without needing extra time as we were all over the place. Fourth place is about our place. We can beat the lower ranked teams (just) but are a long way from France, Spain, and Argentina in terms of keeping the ball when ahead.
Messi is moving through the gears. He’s completely bossing this match. Pickford makes a good save from Gonzalez’s header after a stunning delivery by Messi … and at the hydration break, Ezri Konsa comes on for Anthony Gordon.
66 min: Kane sprays a fine ball out for Reece James (sorry, Harry) and Rice hits a poor shot from an angle.
On 64 min, Scaloni brings on Nico González for Leandro Paredes, and deploys him on the left wing.
Messi immediately picks out an on-rushing González at the far post on the left: a good defensive header by John Stones snuffs out the danger.
It’s noticeable that the game is passing Kane by completely. He looks tired (fair enough) and is strolling around in front of the midfielders but achieving very little.
(Commentator’s curse: Kane knocks a decent enough ball right looking for Rogers but it’s easily dealt with by Argentina.)
Now, on 61 min, Fernández hits a shot from distance over the crossbar from distance … All under control? Gordon is still full of running at the other end trying to put the goalie, Emiliano Martínez, under pressure.
England are already clinging on five minutes after the goal, but it’s worth remembering that Tuchel has changed nothing at this point. Same players, same formation, but they are falling ever further back. Isn’t it down to the senior players to sort this out?
Djed Spence pulls off that sensational diving tackle on Giuliano Simeone on 57min – but the warning signs are there for England’s defence … That follows an Argentinian howler at the back that nearly let Kane in for a shot.
“Another big call from Tuchel to play Rogers on the right” says Shearer on commentary for the BBC. “Decision … the correct one, putting balls in like that.”
It’s a fair shout.
Here we go then. 55min on the clock. England have just scored through Anthony Gordon. I am sure the lads will see this one out, probably even win 2 or 3-0.
It’s nearly time for our England 1-2 Argentina second-half watch-along!
Liveblog:
One question that occurred to me about last night: what actually happened? On the basis that it’s all a bit of a blur, I’ll rewatch the last 35mins of normal time plus stoppages, from 3pm BST/10am EDT – so you don’t have to.
I re-watched the second half this morning out of curiosity. Others will have a better analysis than me but I don’t think England had a corner, attacking free-kick or a genuine chance after they scored. I’d add that Alan Shearer must have had a moment when his view shifted from ‘England are defending really well’ to ‘oh shit, they’re trying to pack the bus against Messi’ (e.g. when he spotted that England had just four attacking players and six defenders).
“We scored, had something to protect, and went into self-preservation mode,” says Phil Jagielka on Sky Sports News of … well, you know what.
“Argentina threw attacking players on, and had nothing to lose … we’ve all played in matches where the momentum changes, and unfortunately for us, we were on the wrong side of it.”
Don’t miss the latest episode of World Cup Daily with Max Rushden, Jonathan Wilson, John Brewin, Barry Glendenning and Nicky Bandini:
There is talk on the podcast of Tuchel’s defensive reorganisation late in the game … but perversely I don’t think the defensive formation was really the issue.
It was the utter lack of ability to keep the ball, the lack of energy across midfield, a badly fading Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham (among others) … It came down to England’s inability to apply any sort of pressure on Argentina at the other end of the pitch. It became a training game, attack v defence, and what seemed an inevitable conclusion.
Tom Lutz
Since 2018, only France have won more games at the Euros and World Cup combined than England. At the World Cup in that span, only Argentina and France have won more. Since 2016, only Spain have won more games at the Euros than England. Of course, the counter-argument is that with that kind of record, England should have won at least one of those tournaments.
The former England defender Micah Richards was informed of the death of his father shortly before going on air as a BBC pundit for the World Cup semi-final against Argentina.
Richards, who won 13 caps for England, appeared alongside Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney as Thomas Tuchel’s side slipped to a late 2-1 defeat.
However, shortly after the broadcast, he revealed that he had been told of the death of his dad, Lincoln, shortly before the match in Atlanta.
Writing on Instagram, Richards said: “Not long before going on air today, I received the awful news that my father Lincoln had passed away. His death was unexpected, and he has left us all too soon.
“He was my greatest fan. He barely missed a game my entire life.
“He would take me wherever I needed to go when I was a kid and he was the proudest parent possible during my professional career. It was so rare for him to not be by my side.
“I know how much watching England World Cup games means to everyone at home, and how the experience bonds families together across the generations, like nothing else.
“I know, particularly as a proud old-school Yorkshireman, dad would’ve wanted the show to go on this evening. And so it did.
“Thinking of my siblings and all my wider family today as we remember my father Lincoln, my hero and inspiration.” PA Media
Gordon for Konsa? Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn for Reece James and Declan Rice: five at the back, and hope to repel a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina?
Now for some light, World Cup-related content from Michael Cragg:
As the Colombian pop supremo prepares to perform at Sunday’s final, we rate her greatest work, including gossipy takedowns and lycanthropic lyrics:
A reminder: Nick Ames will be online for a World Cup Q&A from around 4pm BST/11am EDT. You can get your questions in here:
“It’s hard not to say he didn’t get it badly wrong,” says Alan Smith, the former Arsenal and England forward.
“Who can say what would have happened if we put two or three strikers on? But then at least it’s positive … Tuchel was brought in for these moments, and we thought he’d be more positive when push came to shove. He chose the more negative option, to try and see out the lead … in hindsight it was a poor move.”
Michael Owen just had a chat on Sky Sports News: “Going back in your own box, and kicking it as hard as you can … people think that’s brave. It’s not. Quite the opposite. I can get my local pub team to do that. And that’s where we lost it – celebrating beating Mexico the way we did.
“We did it in my [playing] era … we are so scared of losing, so fearful of failure … it’s purely mentality.”
Gary Neville was just on telly, correctly pointing out that the momentum decisively shifted in Argentina’s favour before Tuchel changed anything. “There were a lot of experienced players out there,” he said. “This is a theme that’s developed for England.”
On which note: Kane said just hanging on to a 1-0 lead wasn’t enough against that quality of opposition. Wasn’t it partly on him, as the captain on the field, to ensure that didn’t happen?
Thanks Martin. Hi again everyone.
One question that occurred to me about last night: what actually happened? On the basis that it’s all a bit of a blur, I’ll rewatch the last 35mins of normal time plus stoppages, from 3pm BST/10am EDT – so you don’t have to.
Not exactly a retro MBM, but maybe a bit more detail on the play-by-play action of what turned into a horror film for England and Thomas Tuchel.
That is me done for now, I will pass you back to Luke McLaughlin.
In non-World Cup news: Dominik Szoboszlai agrees new Liverpool contract in boost to Andoni Iraola
Peter Walker, our senior political correspondent, has a fuller write-up of the political row brewing in the UK over Argentina players holding a banner about the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas at the end of last night’s World Cup semi-final against England.
There is nothing like watching football to make people pull faces that tell you exactly how they are feeling. There are plenty of shots of joyous Argentina fans, but I’ve been drawn in by the wide selection of worried looking England fans, presumably mirroring how I looked last night.
Ryan Benson is asking a very simple question: Why did Manchester United pay Chelsea £48m for Andrey Santos?
24 million people watched England defeat on BBC
England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina drew a peak audience of 24 million people on the BBC on Wednesday evening.
PA reports it was the highest-rated live television event of the year, with an average audience of 22.1m on BBC1 and the BBC iPlayer, and the biggest live television audience for a live event since 2021, when England lost to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
The World Cup final will be broadcast live by both the BBC and ITV on Sunday evening. Gabby Logan will front the BBC’s coverage of the final, with Chapman returning to the UK to lead Radio 5 Live’s coverage of the final day of the Open Championship golf.
Downing Street backs calls for Fifa to investigate Argentina players over Falklands banner
Downing Street has backed calls for Fifa to investigate whether Argentina players broke rules by waving a banner in support of their country’s claim to the Falkland Islands at the World Cup.
No 10 echoed remarks made earlier by Business Secretary Peter Kyle that the governing body should “thoroughly” probe the behaviour of the defending champions after they beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s match in Atlanta.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our commitment to the Falklands will never waver.”
The official said any potential action is a “matter for Fifa”, but asked whether the Prime Minister agrees with his Cabinet minister that there should be an investigation, they replied: “I would echo that position.”
Asked whether Downing Street agrees with Kyle’s characterisation of the behaviour as an “egregious violation” of the rules, she added: “Any action taken is a matter for Fifa, I’ll leave it for them. I’d point you to the business secretary’s words this morning.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has called for the Argentina players seen holding the banner to be suspended for Sunday’s final against Spain. Article 34.3 of the tournament’s rules prohibits the display of any political messages or slogans by players before, during or after a match.
Argentina were fined by Fifa after holding up a banner with the same slogan after a friendly against Slovenia in 2014.
Hearts and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has announced his retirement at the ripe old age of 43. The final appearance of his career came in Scotland’s World Cup warm-up win against Curaçao in May, and his last club game was for Hearts against Celtic in January.
In a post on Instagram Gordon said: “Everyone has dreams. Mine were probably no different to most kids’, to play for my club and my country, Heart of Midlothian and Scotland. Improbable? Perhaps. Impossible? Absolutely not. Hard work, sacrifices, setbacks, step by step dreams become reality, from supporting Hearts to playing for Hearts. I’m not much of a singer, but I’ve improved a little after 84 renditions of the national anthem. The biggest names at the biggest stadiums on the biggest stages. I’ve savoured every moment of it.”
Martin Belam
Hello. I very quickly adapted my to do list today from “Noon-2pm be very smug about it” and instead added “Noon-2pm host continued England post mortem on live blog”. The highlight for me last night in the end was probably the spontaneous booing every time Gianni Infantino was on screen in the place I was watching it, rather than any of the football. I’ve seen that all before.
On the tiredness point, I also wonder if the game-model might’ve taken note of that. England set up to overpower their opponents, despite having games in Mexico City and Miami, after a sapping English league season, and the toll was obvious.
Anyhow, that’s me done for now; here’s Martin Belam to hang with you for the next little bit.
