The England boss oversaw an impressive run to the last four, but his side squandered a golden opportunity to reach the final for the first time in 60 years. Former England captain Wayne Rooney led the chorus of criticism, lambasting Tuchel’s substitutions and arguing his tactical approach was far too cautious, ultimately handing the advantage to Argentina. The FA still have full faith in Tuchel and have no plans to sack the German.
When pressed on whether he remains the right person to steer England towards Euro 2028, which the country will co-host with Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, Tuchel responded: “Yes, 100 per cent. There is still enough to improve, and I am more than happy to do that.
“I’ve loved it here. I loved every day. I said after the Norway game that I see a disconnect from what I see in training on a football level and within the games I think we can impose ourselves more on the ball. I still think we can show how good football players we are.
“I think that is still in us, as I see it in training and in every camp. And here also at the World Cup. I still feel there is an extra level that we need to conquer and need to step up to the next level to get the big prize.”
Tuchel must now contend with the thankless prospect of facing France in the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday – a fixture that falls less than 72 hours after their gut-wrenching defeat to fierce rivals Argentina.
England are expected to ring the changes as Tuchel also intends to use the remainder of the summer to take stock of the World Cup campaign and examine why his side ultimately fell short of the final hurdle.
The German coach believes a significant factor behind England’s late fadeaway was the number of players who arrived for international duty carrying knocks following a gruelling club season.
Tuchel added: “As always you need a bit of time to digest, to reflect and to analyse. It just takes time and you have to bounce back. That is what sport demands. High level sports demands that of us. That’s basically the next step.
“We struggled physically as well, through the whole tournament playing in the heat, playing in the altitude, playing with a man down and so on. It cost us a lot in the end. We gave everything but it was not enough.”