Thomas Tuchel felt that England produced “mentality” to secure third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Declan Rice’s strike and Ezri Konsa’s header put England in firm control of the third-place play-off after just 18 minutes before Bukayo Saka added a further two goals late in the first half.
Kylian Mbappe’s brace and Bradley Barcola’s finish however gave France hope of a surprise comeback until Saka completed his hat-trick from the spot, after Malo Gusto had fouled Djed Spence inside the box.
Ousmane Dembele however pulled a consolatory goal back for France in the 96th minute, yet Jude Bellingham ensured England had the last laugh two minutes later with a 6-4 victory, as his seventh goal saw him become their best goalscorer at a single men’s World Cup edition.
Head Coach, Tuchel post-match praised the team for their psychological mentality across the match given that they had 24 hours less to prepare, following their semi-final heartbreak against Argentina.
“We had a brilliant first half and then a turbulent second half.
“You could see the difference of what one day makes and the difference in the schedule. We are so, so tired and drained from the last weeks.
“So a massive compliment and full respect – the mentality that we showed. Going through all the adversity is absolutely brilliant.
“I was afraid of the physical demands of the match. We know the quality and speed of France, and they have much less schedule for them. It was less demanding.
“They had one more day in-between the semi-final to digest, and they had way less travel distances than us.”
Tuchel proceeded to address the impact of playing in the heat and at altitude as he noted cramps and fatigue setting in during the second half, but felt confident that the mentality would be crucial to the result.
“We played in the heat, at altitude. I was worried physically. You could see it in the second half, the cramps and all the tiredness, but I was never worried about the mentality.
“I have said it before, this team has created something very special, and they showed it again.”
“Not sure if we had more control. We just had fresher legs and quality players again.
“The others were tired. France played in their full flow and full risk, so we got unlucky to not concede the equaliser and finish it off with a penalty and a brilliant goal.”
Saka’s hat-trick ensured that England achieved their highest World Cup finish since they won the competition in 1966 and the Arsenal winger drew high praise from Tuchel.
“He did everything right. I had a feeling in the semi-final for Rogers. That he would be involved in something special. That was it.
“The games in itself demands so much, so much focus on changes because of cramps and flow of the games.
“Bukayo showed that he is a key player. There is never a doubt. I wasn’t aware he had a hat-trick. I lost the overview of the goalscorers, but brilliant.”
Tuchel however noted that England haven’t fully closed their gap to France in terms of quality but feels that they’re now heading in the right direction.
“You could see I think everything. We have the ability to close it, but they have the ability to open it up again.
“Eight years ago they were the champions. Four years ago they were in the final. There is a slight gap, but no problem. We want to close it.
“I said yesterday today is the first step to closing it. We did it. We beat them. The next one will be Spain in the Nations League.
“To see a team fight like this gives you energy. The tiredness will come after. We will still feel the pain when tomorrow is the final. This will take a while, but overall it gives me more energy than it takes from me.”