England carry ‘scars’ of World Cup heartbreak into third-place playoff

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkEngland's German head coach Thomas Tuchel led the team to the semifinals in his first major assignment [Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP]By AFPPublished On 18 Jul 202618 Jul 2026Thomas Tuchel said that England’s players carry the “scars” of a painful World Cup exit, admitting there was still a gap to close on the top nations.The England boss has been heavily criticised for his defensive substitutions in a 2-1 semifinal defeat by Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3World Cup winners to receive US-style championship rings, FIFA sayslist 2 of 3Tackling Messi ‘huge challenge’ for Spain, admits super-sub Merinolist 3 of 3Five football players who rose to social media stardom at the World Cupend of listAnthony Gordon put England on track to reach their first World Cup final since 1966, but late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez turned the match around.The Three Lions face France in the third-place playoff in Miami on Saturday after Didier Deschamps’ men were beaten 2-0 by European champions Spain.England’s Jude Bellingham (10) is consoled by Marc Guehi (6) and Jordan Henderson (14) after the World Cup semifinal defeat [Stephanie Scarbrough/AP Photo] Tuchel was repeatedly grilled over his tactics during the Argentina game at his pre-match news conference on Friday.“I tried to help, I tried to support,” said the German, taking charge of his first major tournament with England.“I took a decision, I took several decisions, trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience, trusting my competitiveness, and I took the decision in order to help the team and get the result.“We didn’t get the result, so I take, of course, the responsibility for these decisions. But the decisions are made under stress, the decisions are made in-game.”‘We have to live with this defeat’Tuchel was downbeat as he took questions alongside former Manchester City defender John Stones, saying he and his players would suffer the most.“We have to live with this, so it’s our pain, my pain and the players’ pain – we feel the most pain of all,” he said.“And it is our scar that we carry now. It is a very painful defeat, and we have to live with this defeat, first and foremost, not the critics, not the experts, not our family members who suffer as well with us and want only the best for us, but it’s basically us.”‘We have a gap to close’The former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss said England, fourth in the FIFA rankings, still had a gap to bridge to reach the standards of the three top nations – Argentina, Spain and France.Defending champions Argentina face European champions Spain in Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.“I think the gap is there because of the titles that Argentina, France and Spain have as national teams, as countries,” he said. “What they built over many years with the coaches and the team, there’s still a slight gap that we have to close.“I think the gap shows in almost the expectations of these countries to win a World Cup and to be in a final.”But Tuchel promised a reaction from his men.“We will overcome it, we will use it, we will have a reaction, and it starts from tomorrow [Saturday],” he said.“We have a gap to close, and we are aware of that, and that’s where the focus is.”