England defeated France 6:4 (4:0) in the small final and won the bronze medals. They had never managed to do this before, as in 1990 and 2018 they finished fourth.
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Although the medals are already hanging around their necks, Thomas Tuchel and his players are not overly celebrating. The “Three Lions” had the goal of bringing the “trophy home”.
However, the trophy won in 1966 will not return to England, as they lost 1:2 to Argentina in the semifinals.
“These matches will definitely help us, although you can never celebrate a bronze medal with all your heart,” said T. Tuchel. “This is the first World Cup medal in 60 years and the first won abroad. I hope that one day the players will be able to be proud of it.
We set ourselves the biggest possible dream and very ambitiously aimed to reach the World Cup final. So not achieving this goal hurts a lot, and that pain will remain for some time.”
In the first half, the English simply took advantage of the French defense, which was as leaky as a sieve. They scored four goals in 45 minutes and it seemed that the remaining time was just a formality.
Speaking about such a start, T. Tuchel emphasized the role of Jordan Henderson, who suffered an injury during the championship. The footballer, who broke his wrist, gave a very emotional speech to the team before the match.
“He helped us get properly motivated and united everyone for a common goal,” said the 36-year-old midfielder T. Tuchel. “It was incredible because that day was very emotional. Over the past seven weeks, we created something very special and we will never compromise on this matter.
I still stand by my words – we have to play better football, control the game better under pressure, and make better decisions in such moments. We also have to defend better.”
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After the long break, the French revived and seemed to grow wings. In the 66th minute, Kylian Mbappe scored the team’s third goal in the second half and reduced the deficit to a minimum (3:4). Then the English looked shaken.
However, Bukayo Saka played an important role. By the 87th minute, he had already scored two goals, and then stepped up to take a penalty kick. The Englishman converted it very accurately – into the lower right corner of the goal.
The 24-year-old footballer, plagued by injuries, did not have many opportunities to shine in this championship, but scored three goals in the battle for bronze.
“It was very hard for me to decide not to include him in the starting lineup for the semifinal,” said T. Tuchel, admitting he was cautious about B. Saka’s Achilles tendon problem, which the footballer had been dealing with for the past few months. “I thought that in the match against Argentina, Morgan Rogers could give the team something special due to his physical qualities and build.
In the match against Argentina, we sent B. Saka to warm up several times. We were ready to put him on the field, but the match became so chaotic that we finally chose another option.”
However, my opinion has not changed during this World Cup. Bukayo is a fantastic teammate, a great footballer, and one of our most important players. That will not change. He proved it once again today, so I am very happy for him.”
One of the architects of the victory – B. Saka – also shared his comment.
“Of course, I would have liked to play more, but now it is too late to talk about it,” he said. “I try to speak with my game on the field, but now everything is over – we have to move forward.
We lacked very little in the match against Argentina. It is very painful. I am sure the fans at home feel the same. We have to hold our heads up and move forward. Obviously, both teams are disappointed not to reach the final, but it was important to finish the tournament with a victory. We won the best place for our country in the World Cup in the last 60 years, so we are satisfied with the final result.”
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