England supporters have piled the blame on one man following their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss vs Argentina on Wednesday night. The Three Lions got the taste of their own medicine in Atlanta as, despite taking the lead through Anthony Gordon, they fell to a late 2-1 loss after Lionel Messi assisted both Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.

It now means the nation will have to wait longer than 60 years before ending a well-documented international trophy drought, with their first and last appearance at a World Cup final coming in 1966, when they went all the way and won it under Sir Alf Ramsay. They are also still yet to beat a nation that ranks in the top four of FIFA’s Mens Rankings at a major tournament.

There will be a lot of fallout over the coming days, weeks, months, and possibly years depending on how well England bounce back. Some will hail the determination shown up until the semi-final, while others will suggest the players simply aren’t the quality hopefuls make them out to be. But the vast majority are in agreement over whose to blame for the late collapse.

England Fans Pin Most of the Blame on Same Man After World Cup Exit

Nathan Ray Seebeck (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters)

Thomas Tuchel was appointed by the English FA at the back end of the Euro 2024 final loss because of his track record of getting things right at the crucial times of major tournaments.

However, while the general consensus was that the German head coach had got things right up until this week’s clash, nobody can help but feel his decision to sit back and defend England’s slender lead ultimately cost them a place in the final. As Wayne Rooney put it during a segment with the BBC: “I think the decisions Thomas Tuchel made – and we have to be honest on this – have cost us tonight,” as an X user also remarked:

Another wrote: “We have praised Thomas Tuchel throughout this World Cup, but today he got it wrong,” while others weren’t as forgiving, as the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss was also labelled an ‘Absolute bottlejob’ and ‘washed beyond belief.”

Meanwhile, someone else poetically concluded: “Thomas Tuchel’s ridicule will be studied in history books as one of the greatest acts of cowardice in sports. With the score at 0-1, he sent England to hunker down in their own half and handed the match to Argentina on a silver platter. The defeat is entirely his.”

Nathan Ray Seebeck / IMAGN Images via Reuters

Ultimately, while there will be positives and negatives to take away from yet more tournament heartbreak, the reality is that England may not be as good as everyone makes out. If that wasn’t made abundantly clear during the Golden Generation at the start of the 2000s, then constant near-misses under Gareth Southgate and Tuchel should be a gentle reminder.

That’s not to say the country’s population shouldn’t be grateful for the summers they’ve been given recently, especially considering hope had run completely dry in periods before and after the mid-2000s. But if they’re really serious about winning silverware, then the mission still looks a long way from finishing.

More to follow…

Argentina have booked their place in the World Cup final against Spain after coming back from behind to beat England 2-1 in the semi-final.

The loss for England means that their 60-year wait for a trophy will continue after their lacklustre display in the semi-final, despite taking the lead through Anthony Gordon.

The game was a feisty encounter between the two sides, with plenty of tackles flying in from players on both teams.

One of the more heated moments came when Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham appeared to slap Argentina substitute Valentin Barco on the back of the head following Argentina’s winning goal.

Jude Bellingham Appears to Strike an Argentine Player

REUTERS/Marco Bello

With tensions running high and England on the back foot ever since the Argentina equaliser, you could tell that the stadium and tempers would flare when the winning goal came, but no one expected Bellingham to be caught striking an opposition player after the game.

The slap from Bellingham appears to be a fairly strong strike to the back of Barco’s head, and it also doesn’t show any justification or explanation as to why Barco became the victim of Bellingham’s confrontation.

Everyone knows that Bellingham is a very passionate player who wears his heart on his sleeve every time he steps out onto the pitch, but this encounter could be seen to show the Englishman in a bad light and left many wondering why he lashed out.

Why Bellingham Wasn’t Happy With Barco After England Loss

Whilst there is no justification for players lashing out on a football pitch, the Metro do provide an explanation as to why Bellingham perhaps let his anger get the better of him in this situation.

After the Argentina winner, Barco appeared to have run down to the England dugout to celebrate in front of Thomas Tuchel’s staff and substitutes after Enzo Fernandez’s equaliser, rightfully leaving many of the players angered.

Ex-England goalkeeper Paul Robinson said via BBC Radio Five Live, “We’ve not seen much sportsmanship today and that was probably the worst example of sportsmanship we’ve seen at this World Cup.”

It was a semi-final full of high tempers and crash-outs, and this was the pinnacle of the poor sportsmanship seen during the game, and perhaps explains why Bellingham saw fit to confront Barco.

It was after this behaviour from Barco that Bellingham was seen running after Barco, and that was when he slapped the Argentine around the back of the head.

The situation would’ve had no impact on Barco, as he saw his country make it to their second consecutive World Cup final, although he never made it onto the pitch.

Argentina now faces Spain at MetLife Stadium on Sunday evening in the final, where Lionel Messi will be hoping to win his second World Cup in a row.

WWE legend Mark Henry is one of the most universally respected performers in modern-day professional wrestling history.

Across a 22-year in-ring career, the former World Heavyweight Champion worked for both WWE and AEW.

During that time, the WWE Hall of Famer shared looker rooms with countless fellow wrestlers.

GIVEMESPORT exclusively spoke to The World’s Strongest Man, via Casino.org, about one Superstar he worked with who he couldn’t stand.

Mark Henry Has ‘Never Said Anything Good’ About One WWE Superstar

“Hate is a powerful word, but I did dislike several,” admitted Henry. It’s no secret that I’ve never said anything good about Ahmed Johnson.”

Johnson is most famous for his stint in WWE between 1995 and 1998. He won the Intercontinental Championship in June 1996 and was widely tipped to be a future world champion.

The Pearl River Powerhouse was even set to headline that year’s SummerSlam, before health issues ruled him out of the show. Those same health concerns, combined with backstage issues, led to Johnson leaving WWE altogether in 1998.

Why Henry Disliked His Former WWE Colleague

Henry spent several years working alongside Johnson and it’s clear he didn’t enjoy the experience.

While the pair didn’t have any issues working together in the ring, it was Henry’s experience of Johnson backstage that really upset the Silsby, Texas native.

“I just didn’t think that he was a good person. He lied using my name, and he did some things that if I told them to anybody, they would be very incriminating.”

Henry didn’t expand on the exact nature of the issues between the pair, but it is obvious that he is still bothered by the way he he was treated.

Following his WWE departure, Johnson would resurface in WCW in 2000, where he immediately entered into a feud with Booker T. Now known as Big T, Johnson and Booker had a pay-per-view match at SuperBrawl 2000.

In a bout for ‘the rights to the letter T’ (yes, seriously), Big T defeated Booker in a short match that received poor reviews. Johnson would leave WCW in June 2000 and only wrestled another six matches in his career.

That Ahmed had such a brief post-WWE run in the ring is likely an indication of how poorly thought of he was by those who worked with him. Henry, meanwhile, is currently signed to a WWE Legends deal and continues to represent the company as an ambassador.