England beat France 6-4 in the World Cup third-place match to claim the bronze medal. After the game, England head coach Thomas Tuchel told ITV that the pain of letting a lead slip against Argentina in the semi-final had not faded, but he was proud of the way his team responded.
Tuchel first singled out Declan Rice as a symbol of the squad's spirit. "Rice is the best reflection of how every player gives everything for this team. We had one day less to prepare than our opponents, and we had to face a top side in high temperatures, with very limited recovery time. But today the whole team completely moved on from the disappointment and produced a perfect response. Rice is one of the core leaders, always willing to give everything, and he deserves everyone's praise."
Speaking about England's 4-0 lead at half-time, Tuchel admitted he had not expected it. He said the team had made thorough tactical preparations, and that Jordan Henderson delivered an emotional speech in the dressing room before kick-off. "At that moment, I knew everyone was ready to give everything," he said. He added that once the pressure of the occasion eased and the team found more freedom in attack, England fully expressed themselves and were highly efficient in front of goal.
Asked whether he feared a repeat of the semi-final collapse when France cut the score to 4-3, Tuchel said the situations were unrelated. "France have one of the best attacking groups in world football. They had one more day to recover than we did, and that is an objective advantage. Once they fully opened up in attack, they were capable of producing that kind of response. It was purely a reflection of the players' individual quality."
On delivering England's best World Cup finish in 60 years, Tuchel said: "We have produced a good result, but third place always leaves room for improvement. Seventy-two hours ago, we lost to defending champions Argentina, and we were still leading in the 85th minute. That pain is still hard to let go of. But today the whole team showed great resilience under pressure again with a big win."
Looking ahead, Tuchel stressed that the team still had to improve tactically. He said England needed to handle high-pressure situations with more maturity and show greater discipline and solidity in defence. He described the match against France as the first step, adding that the next team to catch was Spain. Tuchel said England were happy to face the strongest sides as pursuers and challengers, and concluded by saying the squad must reignite its hunger for victory in seven weeks' time.