Head coach accepts ‘the pain will stay for a while’ but tasks team to keep chasing ‘the highest dream’
Thomas Tuchel wants England to use their bronze medal win at the 2026 World Cup as an inspiration to pursue the bigger prize in the next edition.
England secured third place at the tournament with a 6-4 victory over France, prompting Thomas Tuchel to praise his players for delivering the country’s first World Cup medal in 60 years and its first on foreign soil.
The England manager said the result should give his squad confidence despite the disappointment of missing out on the final after Wednesday’s defeat by Argentina.
“This game will help us for sure – even if you can never fully celebrate a bronze medal,” Tuchel said. “It’s the first [World Cup] medal for 60 years, first [at a] World Cup on foreign soil, and I hope the players can be proud of that at some point.
“We set ourselves the highest dream to chase, and we were very, very ambitious with our dream to make the final in the World Cup. So it’s very, very painful if you miss out, the pain will stay for a while.”
England appeared to be heading for a straightforward victory after Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Bukayo Saka’s first-half double established a 4-0 lead before half-time.
But France came out guns blazing after Didier Deschamps made several changes in what was his final match after 14 years in charge. Kylian Mbappe scored to continue his chase for a second consecutive Golden Boot, taking his tournament tally to 10 goals and his overall World Cup total to 22, moving ahead of Lionel Messi’s career mark.
Saka completed his hat-trick before Ousmane Dembele reduced the deficit again in stoppage time. Jude Bellingham then came off the bench to score England’s sixth goal, his seventh of the tournament, setting a new England record for goals by one player at a World Cup.
Tuchel has been much maligned after Argentina came back from behind to ruthlessly dump England out in the semi-finals, but the coach made clear he believes there is further progress for his team to make.
“I still stand by my words, that we need to play better football, manage games better under pressure, take better decisions under pressure,” said Tuchel. We need to defend more economically.”
