Thierry Henry makes Marcus Rashford claim after England's World Cup exit

Arsenal legend and World Cup winner Thierry Henry (Picture: FOX Sports)

Thierry Henry

has revealed

Marcus Rashford

was set for a far more prominent role in

England

’s

World Cup

semi-final defeat to Argentina.

England failed to end 60 years of hurt in the United States as

Thomas Tuchel

’s side

lost 2-1 to defending champions Argentina

.

The Three Lions had one foot in their first World Cup final since 1966 when new Barcelona signing

Anthony Gordon

broke the deadlock shortly after half-time.

Tuchel’s decision to go defensive at that point proved disastrous, however, as huge Argentina pressure finally resulted in an equaliser through

Chelsea

midfielder

Enzo Fernandez

England had six defenders on the pitch by that stage and with no outlet Argentina came forward again and scored an injury-time winner through Lautaro Martinez.

Tuchel threw on Rashford and Ivan Toney in stoppage-time but England were unable to score an equaliser as they

suffered more World Cup heartbreak at the hands of old foes Argentina

Rashford showed some promising signs earlier in the tournament but lost his place in the team to the lively Gordon.

Marcus Rashford after England’s World Cup exit (Picture: Getty)

But Henry has revealed Tuchel was preparing to bring Rashford on just before Gordon gave England the lead at the Atlanta Stadium.

Tuchel shelved the idea of any attacking substitutions after England went in front and Henry criticised that decision, insisting the German boss ‘went defensive too early’.

‘When you’re on the bench as a coach, things happen so quickly,’ the Premier League legend and French World Cup winner told

FOX Sports

Anthony Gordon gave England the lead (Picture: Getty)

‘We need to analyse something because Marcus Rashford was supposed to come on just before Anthony Gordon scored.

‘After Gordon scores then suddenly you go into a back-five which seemed too early. Then they lose Reece James and they bring on Nico O’Reilly but he’s playing on the wing.

‘Boom – Argentina score and then where do you go with that formation? Then boom they score again and now you need to try and bring on guys to score yourselves.

‘It’s not easy but I’ll repeat again, they went into a back-five too early. It’s not easy on the bench but they went defensive too early – you don’t beat that team [Argentina] like that.

Argentina booked their place in the World Cup final (Picture: Getty)

‘So, Thomas Tuchel, what he did wasn’t bad. They just did it too early. I think that England went into a back five too early for my liking, giving them the ball.

‘I’m not saying that they thought they won the game. It’s not true. But they thought they had to defend the lead a tiny bit too early.

‘After that, if you’re Argentina, you’re going to throw strikers and put [them] in the box.

‘One thing that [Argentina manager Lionel] Scaloni did exactly the same against Switzerland and Egypt, he put Lionel Messi on the right – not in the middle, into traffic.

A dejected England manager Thomas Tuchel (Picture: Getty)

‘But he put him on the right. They attracted him to the right of the opposition, to give him the ball in a [one-on-one situation] to go back to his left and cross. And actually, he went on his right to cross.

‘So, what I’m saying is, they’re the world champion for a reason.’

Legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added: ‘That’s why I asked Thierry to explain what happened with Rashford because it shows you the dynamics for the coach and what was supposed to happen and what really happened.

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‘He was supposed to bring Rashford in and push on the counter-attacks but then they score and they go to a back-five.

‘They had six defenders on the pitch at one point. These are the different feelings you have as a coach during a game and this time it didn’t go Thomas Tuchel’s way.

‘Tuchel didn’t play the cards right and for Argentina, it’s not about how you start but how you end.

‘I think England stopped playing. Tuchel made some changes. He went too defensive, and Scaloni went more offensive.

‘The way Argentina was playing, they didn’t panic. They kept attacking. They hit the post. They had a couple of chances before scoring their first goal, and they kept pushing.

‘They didn’t make some panic move. Scaloni kept pushing by putting in more offensive players. Martinez came in, in the end. So, the best team won, like Thierry said.’

Defending champions Argentina will face Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday night after the

European champions knocked out France

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