Tuchel praises positives from England's dramatic World Cup third-place finish: 'Players can be proud of that'

England’s manager expressed hope that the players would reflect on finishing third at the 2026 World Cup with pride, rather than disappointment at falling short of their ultimate goal of winning the prestigious title.-trick

On Saturday (Friday in the US), England and France delivered an absolute goalfest, scoring a total of ten goals in the third-place playoff match. Despite Kylian Mbappe's brace, Bukayo Saka's hat-trick helped the Three Lions seal a 6-4 victory to finish third at the 2026 World Cup.

It was England's best finish in the World Cup since their only triumph in 1966 at Wembley Stadium. It was the same year when they hosted the tournament and won the title.

Tuchel highlights silver linings in England's third-place result

Speaking to reporters after the third-place playoff match, Tuchel acknowledged pride and pain while reflecting on England's third-place finish and wanted the players to take pride in the team's finest performance in 60 years.

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The German manager added that the achievement is significant, but the disappointment of missing out on a title win is painful, and the feeling would linger for some time.

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"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.

"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.

"So it's very, very painful if you miss out. The pain will stay ​for a while," Tuchel said, as quoted by Reuters.

England seal thrilling win vs France

England delivered an all-out performance against France, with Saka's hat-trick propelling them to a bronze medal victory. Tuchel's side displayed pure attacking aggression, something they heavily lacked in their semifinal defeat to France.

Had they put up a performance like this in their previous outing, England would've ousted defending champions to march into the final and stay in contention to win the prestigious title.

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After England defeated France in the third-place playoff, all eyes would be on the ultimate showdown when Argentina and Spain gear up to lock horns in the final on Monday, July 20 (Sunday, July 19 in the US).