Thomas Tuchel has confirmed he will remain as England head coach until Euro 2028 despite seeing his side’s World Cup campaign end with a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina.
Hopes were high after Anthony Gordon gave England the lead early in the second half. However, Enzo Fernandes equalised late on, and Lautaro Martinez scored a winner in stoppage time for Argentina.
England fell short of reaching the World Cup final, but Tuchel insists his focus is already on the future as he prepares to lead the Three Lions into the European Championship on home soil.
When asked directly whether he would stay on after the World Cup, Tuchel made his intentions clear.
“We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros,” said the former Chelsea boss.
“I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”
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Tuchel reflects on England’s World Cup exit
Although disappointed with the result, Tuchel believes reaching the last four should still be recognised as an achievement, even if it offers little comfort after such a painful defeat.
“We have to wait for four years [to go again at another World Cup]. 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 added.
“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 nature of being so competitive puts the next game into perspective.”
England’s attention now turns to the third-place play-off against France, a fixture that neither side would have wanted to be involved in after missing out on the World Cup final.
Tuchel acknowledged the challenge ahead, particularly with England having less recovery time than their opponents. But, stressed his team would approach the match with complete professionalism.
“None of our players or none of the French players want to play in this match,” said Tuchel.
“Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but it is what it is. We have a day less than France to recover but we will do it professionally.
“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.”
Tuchel’s comments make it clear he has no plans to step away from the England job despite the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup final.
Instead, the German will continue building towards Euro 2028, where England will hope to challenge for a major trophy on home soil.
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