Tuchel believes England are fortunate to have advanced to the World Cup's last four, but insists they still have room for improvement.

During the 2026 World Cup football tournament quarter-final match between Norway and England, England's German head coach Thomas Tuchel was seen conversing with his forward #20 Noni Madueke at the hydration break, which took place at Miami Stadium in Miami Gardens on July 11, 2026.

n

England manager Thomas Tuchel described his team as “lucky” to have narrowly defeated Norway 2-1 after extra-time, thereby securing a spot in the World Cup semi-finals, and he also praised Jude Bellingham's “world-class” performance after the player scored two goals to lead the Three Lions to victory.

n

A visibly furious Tuchel was not in a celebratory mood despite England reaching the last four for only the fourth time in history, following Bellingham's double which overturned Andreas Schjelderup's opener.

n

Tuchel stated, “We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” in an on-field interview shortly after the team's win, and then added, “The result is fantastic, the last four is amazing, but I’m not happy with the performance.

n

He further expressed his dissatisfaction by saying, “The commitment is there, but it made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played, sloppy, lots of safety, not fast enough, not enough, we were lucky today.”

n

Jude Bellingham seemed less concerned about his manager's reaction, responding with a nonchalant “Whatever, whatever” after a grueling 120 minutes in the sweltering Miami heat.

n

Bellingham then shifted his focus to his teammates, saying, “It’s difficult out there, it’s a tough shift, all the players are putting in a tough shift, so my thoughts and appreciation go to the players who put in a good shift out there.”

n

England will now face either Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday, as they attempt to reach the World Cup final for the first time in 60 years.

n

Tuchel later stated that he had no doubt about his players' effort, but emphasized that his team would need to improve to progress further in the competition.

n

He said, “I’m impressed with the shift that they put in, the effort, the belief and to overcome adversity and to dig in and find ways to win is on the absolutely highest level,” and then added, “Full credit to the team, we found a way in the last four, this is of course the most important but the analysing head of me and the football coach still thinks that we can and have played better football.”

n

England benefited from two significant refereeing decisions, as Bellingham's first goal was allowed to stand despite Norwegian protests that the ball had struck the TV camera suspended above the pitch in the build-up.

n

Norway also had a second goal disallowed in the second half after a VAR review for a foul by Erling Haaland before a corner had been taken, prompting Tuchel to acknowledge, “We were lucky, I stand with that.”

n

Tuchel elaborated on the role of luck in tournament football, saying, “No one ever denies that you need luck to go far in tournament football, you need moments where you’re lucky, otherwise it’s just not possible, I see no harm in admitting it, it’s just the way I felt.”

n

Tuchel was lavish in his praise for Bellingham, who scored twice in England's memorable 3-2 win over Mexico in the Estadio Azteca in the last 16, and with his two goals in Miami, Bellingham moved alongside Harry Kane on six goals in six games at this World Cup.

n

Tuchel described Bellingham's performance as “world-class” and said, “In big, big moments, crucial moments, he was absolutely top class.”