Images of English players collapsing because of disappointment are not uncommon in recent major tournaments. Since 2018, they have reached the World Cup semi-finals twice, the EURO finals twice but have never succeeded once. Even in not-too-large tournaments like the Nations League, the "Three Lions" have never been crowned.
After defeating France 6-4 in the World Cup 2026 third-place match, Thomas Tuchel and stars like Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham,... all received great gratitude from fans in the stands. Each of them received a bronze medal. That scene would be more glorious if the medal color was changed to gold.
Winning the third place at the World Cup is not too bad for the England team if you look at their achievements at the World Cup arena. Except for the 1966 championship, the "Three Lions" twice before the 2026 World Cup reached the semi-finals but both finished in 4th place. The England team defeated France in this match to get a bronze medal, before that they also defeated Mexico, Norway,... very difficult and powerful opponents. Looking at the overall campaign, this is not a big defeat for the England team, it is just not in line with the championship expectations of the majority of fans.
With Thomas Tuchel, what he had built for 18 months since taking office completely collapsed in just about 40 days, after a defeat with many mistakes against Argentina. In the last press conference in the US before returning home, Tuchel said that the semi-final defeat seemed like the England team had to return home after the group stage. That is the downside that has existed for decades in the British media, which can criticize mercilessly when the team has not met expectations.
Now, the German strategist must rebuild from scratch to aim for EURO 2028, even sooner for the Nations League 2027.
The formula for a team's success at the World Cup is a domestic coach and that person is often unsuccessful or does not work regularly in the club environment. The purpose when the FA appointed Thomas Tuchel was to apply a tactical mind that has experienced many big teams to apply to the England team.
That idea is very positive but the effect is the opposite. In this tournament, besides Thomas Tuchel, there are also Carlo Ancelotti, Julian Nagelsmann and Mauricio Pochettino who have also led a series of big clubs, but none of them won the World Cup, even some people left the tournament with a farewell to the national team like Nagelsmann.
Tuchel shared that the defeat to Argentina is like a scar imprinted forever in his mind. The German strategist frankly admitted that the responsibility belongs to himself and will do even better in the short 2 years to come. With the British media, whether they will leave Tuchel alone is a question that no one has answered yet. Will Tuchel be able to work with peace of mind until the end of EURO 2028 or may he leave his position suddenly if the "Three Lions" play poorly in the Nations League 2027?
The England team will not play for more than 2 months, until the match against Spain at home in the early stage of the 2027 Nations League. That is a very big match for the "Three Lions" when they have to face the strongest team on the planet in the past 3 years. The match at Wembley will also partly answer the question of whether England in the 2026 World Cup final will do better than Argentina against Spain?
At this time, Tuchel will have to have urgent improvement plans for his playing style and also have time to see whether the British media's reaction to him is supportive or continued harshness. The German strategist shared that there are more than 8 weeks for the England team to prepare for the Nations League again, which will be the moment for him and his students to regain the trust from fans.
