England manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will remain in charge through to Euro 2028 after watching his side’s World Cup dream come to a crushing end against Argentina on Wednesday night.
The Three Lions looked destined for their first World Cup final since 1966 after Anthony Gordon fired them ahead in Atlanta.
But the contest slipped away in dramatic fashion as Enzo Fernandez hauled Argentina level before Lautaro Martinez struck the decisive blow to send the South Americans into the final.
It was a bitter conclusion to an impressive tournament for England, who had reached the last four after knockout victories over DR Congo, Mexico and Norway.
Despite the disappointment, the German insisted there is no question over his future, with his focus already fixed on leading England into the European Championship on home soil in 2028.
Tuchel signed a contract extension earlier this year, keeping him in the role until the tournament, which will be staged across England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
Asked whether he would continue after England’s World Cup exit, Tuchel replied: “We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros.
“I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will remain in charge through to Euro 2028 after watching his side’s World Cup dream come to a crushing end against Argentina on Wednesday night
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GETTY
England boss Thomas Tuchel cut a frustrated figure as his side lost to Argentina at the World Cup
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GETTY
England’s attention will now switch to Saturday’s third-place play-off against France in Miami, a fixture Tuchel admitted neither side wanted to be involved in.
However, he stressed reaching another World Cup semi-final should not be overlooked, even if it offers little comfort immediately after defeat.
“We have to wait for four years to go again at another World Cup,” he said.
“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.
Every team to have won the World Cup | GETTY/GB NEWS
“It is an achievement, no one wants to hear that at the moment, me neither, because we demand the most of ourselves because we are so competitive.
“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.”
England captain Harry Kane, meanwhile, admitted his side lost control after taking the lead and believes they paid a heavy price for becoming too defensive against the reigning world champions.
“I’m gutted,” the skipper confessed. “Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on which at this level is just not enough, so I’m gutted.
“We worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears, whatever it is, so to fall short like today is just gutting.”
Kane insisted Tuchel’s instructions after Gordon’s opener were to keep attacking, but England were unable to maintain the aggressive press that had caused Argentina problems earlier in the match.
“We struggled to get pressure on the ball after the goal,” Kane explained.
“The messaging was to go again and get another goal.
Argentina scored two late goals to shatter English hearts in Wednesday night’s World Cup clash
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“After the goal… it was just wave after wave.
“The lads were putting blocks in but in the end it was not enough.”
Although devastated by another near miss on the biggest stage, Kane believes England are edging closer to ending decades of major tournament frustration.
“We’ve had a lot of good moments in this tournament,” he added.
“We’re close. We just need to find that missing piece.
“These tournaments take it out of you. We’ve shown a lot in the last six, seven weeks we’ve been together. We’re just missing that final piece.”
