Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will stay on as England head coach until Euro 2028, despite the heartbreak of a World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
England were beaten 2-1 in Atlanta, with Anthony Gordon’s opener cancelled out by goals from Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, set up by Lionel Messi.
Tuchel, who extended his contract earlier this year through to the home European Championship in 2028, was unequivocal when asked about his future. "We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros," he said, as reported by Sky Sports. "I'm looking forward to that even though right now it's difficult to look that far ahead."
Tuchel's Commitment Amid Defeat
The German coach acknowledged England's achievement of reaching a second successive semi-final but stressed the competitive nature of the group. "In itself it's an achievement, of course it's a semi-final. A lot of big footballing nations are eliminated before the semi-final," he said. "No one wants to hear that at the moment, me neither, because we demand the most of ourselves because we are so competitive."
England will remain in the United States for a third-place play-off against France in Miami on Saturday, a fixture Tuchel admitted neither side desires. "None of our players or none of the French players want to play in this match. They want to play in the final; we gave everything to be in the final," he said. "The thing for us is to bounce back and react. That's what you have to do at the highest level of sport and that we will do."
Kane on Missed Opportunity
Captain Harry Kane expressed deep disappointment, identifying a familiar failing. "I'm gutted," Kane said. "Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on which at this level is just not enough."
Despite the messaging from the bench to push forward, England dropped deeper and Argentina took control. "We struggled to get pressure on the ball," Kane added. "The lads were putting blocks in but in the end it was not enough."
Tuchel now faces the task of regrouping his squad for the immediate challenge of France and the longer-term project of Euro 2028 on home soil, where the expectation will be to end a drought dating back to 1966.
