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England manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that his players are still carrying the “scars” from their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Speaking on Friday ahead of England’s third-place play-off against France, Tuchel acknowledged that the Three Lions still have ground to make up on football’s leading nations and insisted the team must use the setback as motivation to improve.
The German has come under intense scrutiny following his side’s 2-1 loss to Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday, where his late defensive substitutions were widely criticised.
England appeared on course for their first World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon gave them the lead.
However, Argentina fought back through goals from Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez to book a place in Sunday’s final against Spain.
Facing reporters ahead of Saturday’s clash with France in Miami, Tuchel defended his decisions during the semi-final, saying they were driven by his experience and his desire to secure victory.
“I tried to help, I tried to support,” Tuchel said.
“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.”
The England boss said no one was feeling the pain of the defeat more than the players and coaching staff.
“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.”
Tuchel also admitted England, currently ranked fourth in the world, are still behind reigning world champions Argentina, European champions Spain and France.
“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.”
Despite the disappointment, Tuchel said England must respond positively, beginning with Saturday’s third-place play-off.
“We will overcome it, we will use it, we will have a reaction and it starts from tomorrow,” he said.
“We have a gap to close, and we are aware of that, and that’s where the focus is.”
