Third place, last word: Tuchel settles the score with his English critics
After beating France to seal third place, Tuchel fired back at the English press over their criticism following the Argentina defeat.
France
England- 90'⚽ Goal for England (Jude Bellingham)
- 90'⚽ Goal for France (Ousmane Dembélé)
- 90'Substitution: ↑ Trevoh Chalobah / ↓ Marc Guéhi. (England)
- 90'Substitution: ↑ Jules Koundé / ↓ Malo Gusto because of an injury. (France)
- 90'Final score: France 4 - 6 England
- 87'⚽ Penalty goal for England (Bukayo Saka)
- 83'Substitution: ↑ Reece James / ↓ Jarell Quansah because of an injury. (England)
- 79'Substitution: ↑ Jude Bellingham / ↓ Eberechi Eze. (England)
- 79'Substitution: ↑ Elliot Anderson / ↓ Ivan Toney. (England)
- 66'⚽ Goal for France (Kylian Mbappé)
- 54'⚽ Goal for France (Bradley Barcola)
- 48'⚽ Goal for France (Kylian Mbappé)
- 45'Second half begins
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Ollie Watkins / ↓ Marcus Rashford. (England)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Dayot Upamecano / ↓ Ibrahima Konaté. (France)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Lucas Digne / ↓ Théo Hernández. (France)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Bradley Barcola / ↓ Désiré Doué. (France)
- 45'Substitution: ↑ Ousmane Dembélé / ↓ Rayan Cherki. (France)
- 45'Half-time
- 45'⚽ Goal for England (Bukayo Saka)
- 45'Half-time
- 37'⚽ Goal for England (Bukayo Saka)
- 18'⚽ Goal for England (Ezri Konsa)
- 3'⚽ Goal for England (Declan Rice)
- 0'Kick-off
- 0'Kick-off
After England's dramatic 6-4 win over France in the third-place match, Thomas Tuchel used his final press conference in charge of the Three Lions to settle scores with an English press that had been particularly harsh on him following the semi-final exit.
A semi-final that triggered widespread criticism
Beaten 2-1 by Argentina in the semi-final despite having led, England had faced almost unanimous media criticism. The Sun called the defeat "clearly the manager's fault," The Guardian judged that "Tuchel showed fear," while the BBC pointed to "disastrous decisions" that sealed England's fate. Former internationals piled on too: Gary Lineker openly questioned whether Tuchel was still the right man for the job, while Wayne Rooney criticised tactical calls he said had "cost us" the match. Even US President Donald Trump weighed in, questioning the role given to Harry Kane in the setup.
Tuchel's response
Twenty-four hours after that wave of criticism, the resounding win over France let the German coach have the last word. At his press conference, he didn't hold back: "Honestly, yesterday's press conference gave the impression we were eliminated in the group stage without a single win. Twenty-four hours later, we achieved our greatest success in 60 years. I think the disappointment and drama about what happened against Argentina were excessive, but that's part of the game."
A third-place finish loaded with symbolism
With this 6-4 win, England secured their best World Cup finish since their 1966 triumph — giving Thomas Tuchel the last word over his critics at the end of a tournament as contested as it was ultimately successful.
