England carry ‘scars’ of World Cup exit, says Tuchel

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England’s German head coach Thomas Tuchel

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Thomas Tuchel said Friday that England’s players carry the “scars” of a painful World Cup exit, admitting there was still a gap to close to the top nations.

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The England boss has been heavily criticised for his defensive substitutions in a 2-1 semi-final defeat by Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.

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Anthony Gordon put England on track to reach their first World Cup final since 1966 but late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez turned the match around.

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The Three Lions face France in the third-place play-off in Miami on Saturday after Didier Deschamps’ men were beaten 2-0 by European champions Spain.

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Tuchel was repeatedly grilled over his tactics during the Argentina game at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

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“I tried to help, I tried to support,” said the German, taking charge of his first major tournament with England.

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“I took a decision, I took several decisions, trusting my instinct, my intuition, my experience, trusting my competitiveness and I took the decision in order to help the team and get the result.

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“We didn’t get the result, so I take, of course, the responsibility for these decisions. But the decisions are made under stress, the decisions are made in-game.”

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Tuchel was downbeat as he took questions alongside former Manchester City defender John Stones, saying he and his players would suffer the most.

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“We have to live with this, so it’s our pain, my pain and the players’ pain — we feel the most pain of all,” he said.

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“And it is our scar that we carry now. It is a very painful defeat, and we have to live with this defeat, first and foremost, not the critics, not the experts, not our family members who suffer as well with us and want only the best for us, but it’s basically us.”

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The former Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss said England, fourth in the FIFA rankings, still had a gap to bridge to reach the standards of the three top nations — Argentina, Spain and France.

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Defending champions Argentina face European champions Spain in Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

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“I think the gap is there because of the titles that Argentina, France and Spain have as national teams, as countries,” he said.

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“What they built over many years with the coaches and the team, there’s still a slight gap that we have to close.

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“I think the gap shows in almost the expectations of these countries to win a World Cup and to be in a final.”

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But Tuchel promised a reaction from his men.

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“We will overcome it, we will use it, we will have a reaction and it starts from tomorrow,” he said.

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“We have a gap to close, and we are aware of that, and that’s where the focus is.”

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