After Gordon fired England ahead in this turbulent chapter of a long-standing, bitter rivalry, Tuchel chose to retreat into a defensive shell.
That approach had succeeded in knockout victories over Mexico and Norway, but it was never going to hold against an Argentina side driven by Messi.
With 18 minutes left, Tuchel replaced the scorer Gordon with defender Ezri Konsa and switched to a back five. He then sent on Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn for Declan Rice and Reece James.
Almost instantly, it was obvious that Tuchel had misjudged the situation. His changes did nothing but invite Argentine pressure and those late goals. The blame fell almost entirely on him.
One statistic brutally exposed his thinking: between taking the lead and Martinez’s winning goal nearly 40 minutes later, England managed just 12% possession.
Such was England’s sudden desperation for an attacking threat in the closing stages that Tuchel threw on Ivan Toney after 96 minutes – his first appearance of the tournament.
Toney’s blink-and-you-missed-it cameo also cast a light on some of Tuchel’s squad choices. Was the forward picked purely for a penalty shootout that never happened?
And the debate over Tuchel’s defensive selections, particularly at right-back, will continue to burn.
Tuchel gambled on the injury-prone Reece James staying fit, but when the Chelsea full-back was sidelined with a hamstring problem, right-back suddenly became a problem position.
The role turned into a game of musical chairs involving Jarell Quansah – injured against Panama, then sent off against Mexico – Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa before James returned for the semi-final.
All this while Trent Alexander-Arnold watched from a distance, his natural talent ignored by Tuchel on the grounds of defensive frailty.
As the post-mortem begins, Tuchel’s decision to overlook the creativity of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden – easy to say with hindsight, given both endured difficult seasons with Chelsea and Manchester City – and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White will be revisited.
Jordan Henderson, whose tournament ended in bizarre fashion when he broke an arm during the celebrations after the Mexico win, was taken for his dressing-room influence but was never going to be a serious on-field contributor.
If Tuchel prized his professionalism and character so highly, why not add Henderson to the backroom staff and free up a squad place for a younger, more inventive player?
This was a desperate day for England – and for Tuchel and his tactical approach.
A day when it might well have been said, as the song goes: “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”
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