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US President Donald Trump has joined criticism of England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, questioning Harry Kane’s second-half “defensive” role.
Following the 2-1 defeat, Argentina scored two late goals to set up Sunday’s final in Spain (20:00 BST), with manager Thomas Tuchel coming under fire from players and fans in the second half.
BBC Sport reported on Thursday how a A number of key players remain disappointed. How England were told to take the lead through Anthony Gordon and end the game.
Tuchel returned in the 5th and made several saves in the closing stages as Lionel Messi inspired a stunning strike.
“You’ve got the greatest player I’ve ever played golf with in England, and Harry was the best,” Trump said.
“I think they probably made a mistake when they made him a defensive player. What do I know about football? They took the lead, and they took their best player and put him on defense.”
“We have to be a little more offensive, right. But no, I wouldn’t call it, what do I know about coaching? But that was a little unusual.”
Tuchel was quick to shoot down Trump’s criticism when told later at a news conference.
Speaking at Trump Tower on Friday, the president also said the same moment he asked FIFA. American striker Folarin Balogan to review a one-game suspension.
Balogi, 25, is set to miss his side’s last 16 match against Belgium after receiving a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.
But FIFA suddenly decided to suspend the one-match ban for 12 months, sparking widespread criticism.
Trump said: “This is a tournament like any other tournament. It’s full of hard-fought, memorable moments. Maybe the most memorable is when you give that guy… a red card?
“And I was forced to call Gianni (Infantino). “Gianni, I want to give advice. The guy in the game should leave it!” I said. No, I didn’t say that. I said I wanted to file a complaint.
“And I really didn’t know what was going to happen, but you know it was much better the way it was done because there was no controversy. (Belgium) won the game and our team had all the players. If you think about it, they made another big decision, but you never get credit for it.”
Trump also thanked FIFA president Infantino and described the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada as “the most successful sporting event, perhaps in the history of the world.”
Infantino says the World Cup has exceeded expectations.
“The American dream has come true, Mr. President. We have united the world in America,” he said.
“This is not only the greatest World Cup of all time but also the greatest human social and cultural event that mankind has ever seen and we are all a part of it, and for that I am very grateful, Mr. President.”
