England manager Thomas Tuchel expressed hope that his players would eventually feel proud of finishing third at the World Cup, even as the disappointment of not winning the tournament still stings.
A wild third-place playoff at Miami Stadium on Saturday ended with England defeating France 6-4, marking the Three Lions’ best World Cup result since they won the whole thing on home soil back in 1966.
“It’s the first medal for 60 years, the best World Cup on foreign soil. So I hope that the players can be proud of that in some time,” Tuchel told reporters after the match.
He acknowledged the competitive nature of the squad made it difficult to celebrate a third-place finish. “We are fiercely competitive, so like we almost don’t allow ourselves to be proud of the third place because 18 months ago we set ourselves the highest goal … to make it to the final and win the World Cup,” he said. “So it’s very, very painful if you miss out. The pain will stay for a while.”
Tuchel faced sharp criticism following England’s 2-1 semifinal defeat to Argentina on Wednesday, with many pointing to his defensive approach after his team went ahead early in the second half.
The German manager pushed back on the negativity surrounding that loss. “The press conference yesterday felt as if we went out in the group stage without a win, to be very honest,” he said.
He added that the best response was to perform on the field. “The best thing you can do is react on the pitch and get the next win. Everything else is just talking, and talking doesn’t get you points, and talking doesn’t get you a win. I’m glad that we showed a reaction. We wanted that reaction, and it’s very impressive.”
Saturday’s standout performance came from Bukayo Saka, whose hat-trick naturally raised the question of why he didn’t start in the semifinal against Argentina.
Tuchel explained that he had been carefully managing Saka due to an Achilles injury the player had been dealing with for several months. “It was a tough decision for me to leave him out of the semi-final,” the manager said.
“I had the feeling that Morgan Rogers had something special to give to us with his physicality and his body in the match against Argentina,” Tuchel added. “We had (Saka) warm up several times against Argentina. We were ready to change, but the game became so crazy that we in the end opted for a different option.”
Tuchel made clear that Saka remains a cornerstone of the squad going forward. “Nothing has changed during the World Cup for me. Bukayo is a fantastic teammate, fantastic football player, key player for us, and that will not change. He showed it again today and I’m happy for him.”
