Prince Harry reflects on mindset behind England World Cup exit

Prince Harry blamed a failure of mentality for England's World Cup semi-final defeat against Argentina during an appearance on James Corden's Fox Sports programme. Joining former England defender Rio Ferdinand on the US broadcast, the Duke of Sussex argued that the squad instinctively retreated into a defensive posture rather than pressing their advantage after taking a 1-0 lead.

Fox Sports broadcast the discussion, during which Harry painted a picture of a team overwhelmed by the occasion after scoring first against their South American opponents. He explained that the squad experienced a shock value upon taking the lead, leading to an immediate temptation to fall into a defensive strategy. He insisted that sitting on a slender advantage was not a planned tactic drawn up on the board, adding that attempting to defend a 1-0 lead against a team of Argentina's calibre for over 70 minutes was untenable.

In offering his analysis, Harry appeared to shield England manager Thomas Tuchel from the firestorm of criticism following the team's exit. Tuchel has faced widespread scrutiny over his defensive substitutions and his decision to leave attacking talents Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford unused on the bench. England ultimately conceded two goals in the final 10 minutes of the match to crash out of the tournament.

The broadcast also featured lighter moments as Corden, Ferdinand, and Harry bantered about football management and the Duke's upbringing. After Corden joked that Ferdinand should manage England with Harry as his assistant, the host teased Harry about his time at Eton College. Harry responded by revealing that he played in his prep school's first team before dropping to the E team at his senior school. The Duke also challenged Corden for using the American term "soccer" instead of "football", despite having inadvertently used the word himself during a recent visit to the United Kingdom.