England needs to move on from World Cup heartbreak: Thomas Tuchel

England has won three out of its four matches in this international break. | Photo Credit: AP

England manager Thomas Tuchel said that it was time for his side to move on from the heartbreak it suffered in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after it beat Czechia 3-0 on Tuesday.

Tuchel’s side was leading with five minutes to go in its semifinal against Argentina, but conceded twice as it collapsed to defeat.

Its third-place finish was its best performance at the World Cup since it won in 1966.

The former Chelsea manager came under some criticism for the defeat, with critics citing negative tactics and a lack of proactive substitutions as reasons for the loss.

“I think it’s necessary to move on. I think I can only repeat that we didn’t go out on the group stage, sometimes it feels like that, but we didn’t,” said Tuchel on Tuesday.

“There was a bit of criticism and scepticism around, (but) I said we don’t start new, I believe we don’t have to start completely new because we can build on what we built together and we played some high-level competitive football in the World Cup.

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“Now we move to the next step and it’s always important to take the next step. But the commitment of the players and the attitude of the players from the first day in camp was on a very high level and I’m happy that we can prove it in all four matches.”

Tuchel also praised his captain Harry Kane, who drew level with Peter Shilton for the most England caps on Tuesday.

“Amazing, he deserves the stage, he deserves the praise,” said Tuchel of the Bayern Munich striker.

“He was, again, decisive for us on this very special day for him.”