Following England’s shock exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the hands of Argentina, Prince Harry has shared his two cents on why the Three Lions fell short on football’s biggest stage once again. In a recent interview, the Duke of Sussex opened up about England’s semi-final defeat and listed one primary reason behind Thomas Tuchel’s side’s failure.
Prince Harry suggests the reason behind England’s failure to advance in the World Cup
During his recent appearance on FIFA World Cup on Fox After Hours with James Corden, alongside English footballing legend Rio Ferdinand, the British royal family member indicated that the two-time Euro finalists lost their match against Argentina due to their “mindset.”
When asked about his opinion on the semi-final, Prince Harry told James Corden, “I have to be very careful what I say here. What’s it gonna take? It’s a mindset. I think that what we saw was a slight shock value for the team.”
England went 1-0 up against Argentina in the 55th minute of the World Cup’s second semi-final through Anthony Gordon’s goal. However, the Three Lions conceded two goals in the final 10 minutes, leading to their exit from the competition.
Many have criticized manager Thomas Tuchel for introducing defensive substitutions as soon as England took the lead and for setting up a passive formation to contain Argentina rather than finding a second goal.
Prince Harry seemed to carry a similar opinion. “We’re one-nil up against Argentina, and then there was this immediate temptation to fall into defence,” he added, as per clips shared by Dan Wootton.
“I don’t think it was a tactic; I don’t think that was the plan. It just happened. You can’t try to defend a one-nil lead against a team like that. You just can’t. So the mindset is the belief. It’s the fact that if you are one-nil up, believe that you can be two-nil up.”
England ultimately found some consolation when they beat France 6-4 in an enthralling third-place match. Meanwhile, Argentina lost the 2026 FIFA World Cup final to Spain.
Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on Mandatory.
