Emi Martinez on where England went wrong as Aston Villa face backlash

Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez has revealed how Argentina beat England in the World Cup semi-finals, putting the blame firmly at the door of Thomas Tuchel's tactics.

Excitement had swept through the nation when Anthony Gordon fired England ahead 10 minutes into the second half — following a tense, goalless first 45 minutes — but that was extinguished as Enzo Fernandez equalised 85 minutes in. The mood darkened further when Lautaro Martinez put Argentina ahead in the 92nd minute.

Post-match, many fans were critical of Tuchel's in-game management, choosing defensive substitutions and trying to hold the game at 1-0.

For Argentina, it seemed to be the moment that gave them a new lease of life and a route to a comeback that would break English hearts.

That was backed up by Villa keeper Martinez in his post match interview, he stated: "It was crazy. I thought we played really well in the first half. We dominated them. We know how strong they are in set-pieces and how physical they are. I've played there for 16 years and I know them really well.

"We moved the ball well. They went in front with one cross into the box with only one in the box and they scored. We had the experience of coming back from losing positions.

"They started defending a little bit deeper and that gave us a bit of an advantage through the lines. Getting Messi on the wing was the key for us."

"We felt it. We felt them going backwards and backwards rather than going forward. Sometimes when you are winning, you have to go forward anyway. You can't change the gameplan. I think they did it and they put extra defenders."

Aston Villa themselves came under-fire from fans after the game when they posted a congratulations message on X to their keeper on reaching the final of the competition.

It read: "Congratulations to Emi Martínez on reaching a second successive World Cup Final." - it was accompanied by an Argentinian flag.

It sparked quite a response from supporters on the timing of the post;

Villa McVillaerton: An English club posting like this. Wow, how far we have fallen

Dom: Probably should’ve waited a day to post this tbf.

Bristow: English club celebrating a player knocking England out? Read the room admin

Mark Middleton: We got beat by a better team fair and square, no point in hating our Goalkeeper for it just scroll on.

Adam: Really not the time to post this is it

Rob: I'm a villa fan but no congrats from me

While the post may have inflamed the feelings of hurt from supporters, Villa also took time to commiserate with their English representatives, and have stayed consistent through the tournament in their support of their players.

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