After a thrilling encounter that concluded with a 6-4 victory over France, Thomas Tuchel expressed pride in England’s players, who secured third place at the World Cup for the first time in history.
England established a commanding 4-0 lead by halftime, courtesy of goals from Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa, and two strikes from Bukayo Saka. However, the match shifted after Didier Deschamps, in his final game as France’s head coach, made strategic changes during the break. Kylian Mbappé, who scored to bring his tournament total to ten goals and 22 in World Cup history, aimed for his second consecutive Golden Boot while breaking Lionel Messi’s all-time record. Messi will have an opportunity to reclaim the record in the final against Spain on Sunday.
Saka completed his hat-trick, but Ousmane Dembélé narrowed the gap to 5-4 in injury time. Jude Bellingham, who entered as a substitute, sealed the victory with his seventh goal of the tournament, marking the highest tally by an England player in a World Cup.
England were just minutes away from reaching their first World Cup final on foreign soil until Messi inspired a late comeback by the reigning champions in Atlanta on Wednesday. Tuchel, who faced some boos from fans when his name was announced before the match, had emphasized the importance of proving England’s competitiveness against the world’s best teams ahead of this game. Following their narrow victory against the 2018 champions, he urged his players to continue their development, starting with their Nations League clash against Spain at Wembley on September 26.
“This game will help us for sure – even if you can never fully celebrate a bronze medal,” Tuchel remarked. “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.”
Tuchel shared that Jordan Henderson’s pre-game speech had been instrumental in framing their perspective on the achievement.
“He put us in the right frame of mind, with everyone in one mindset. It was unbelievable because today was very emotional. We built something very special in the last seven weeks, and we’ll never negotiate on that. I still stand by my words, that we need to play better football, manage games better under pressure, take better decisions under pressure. We need to defend more economically.”
In an emotional half-time interview, Tuchel’s assistant Anthony Barry expressed astonishment at the team’s performance amid their “playing a game with broken hearts”
“The cynics will say it’s too late but we still play against a world-class opponent and I’m so proud of the boys,” he noted. “There’s 45 minutes to go. The game’s not done. Anything can happen. But I’m proud of the team and I hope everyone is as well at home.”
Having remained an unused substitute against Argentina, Saka expressed his disappointment at not contributing more.
“Of course I would love to have played more but it’s too late to talk about that,” he stated. “I try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now – let’s move on.
“I try to do my talking on the pitch and it’s done now – let’s move on. “We fell short against Argentina. It hurts a lot. I’m sure it’s the same for the fans back home. We have to hold our heads high and move on. Obviously we’re both quite disappointed to not be in the final but it was about finishing strong and for us giving the country the best position in the World Cup they have finished for 60 years, so we’re happy with the final result.”
Zinedine Zidane is anticipated to succeed Deschamps, who has become only the third individual to win the World Cup both as a player and manager. He expressed no regrets as he stepped down after leading his team to the finals in 2018 and 2022.
“I could have changed eight of them at half-time,” he humorously remarked regarding his team’s initial performance. “It is the end of a journey that has represented the most beautiful period of my life. I always put the French team first. You can be called by the best clubs in the world but there is nothing above this national team. We have faced the greatest moments and I’m hoping for the team to reach new levels when I’m gone.”
