England manager Thomas Tuchel was not satisfied with the Three Lions’ performance as they defeated Norway and reached the World Cup semi-finals.
Thomas Tuchel spoke to ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke after the final whistle (Image: ITV)
Manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he believes England were “lucky” to beat Norway and reach the World Cup semi-finals. After the final whistle blew in Miami on Saturday night, the Three Lions manager gave a heated interview with ITV.
England beat Norway 2-1 and need extra time to advance to the semi-finals, where they will face either Switzerland or Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday night.
Norway took the lead with a goal from Andreas Schjelderup, before Jude Bellingham equalized with a goal in first-half stoppage time.
The Real Madrid star found the back of the net again in the first half of extra time and did enough to help England win 2-1 in Florida.
As England players sang along with the away fans, Tuchel told ITV he was unhappy with their performance.
“We have made life very difficult for ourselves,” he said. “We’re in the top four, which is great, but we’re not satisfied in every way. The commitment is there, but we made life very difficult.” We were sloppy, we made mistakes, we lacked speed, we lacked repetition, but we were lucky today. ”
When asked by interviewer Gabriel Clarke if it was a mental issue, Tuchel seemed furious: “No, it’s not mental. Mental? This is purely mental. How can you ask about mental health now? This is purely mental now.”
“There’s nothing wrong with mentality! This is pure mentality! This is pure mentality. You can bottle it and sell it. It’s the quality of our game and it has nothing to do with our mentality.”
Thomas Tuchel was not happy with England’s performance against Norway (Image: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
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Tuchel added: “Reece James was great, Morgan Rodgers was great today. Evs (Eze) has grown in his game, Jed (Spence) has grown in his game. I give them a lot of credit but overall we were lucky today.”
He called Bellingham “world class,” and when the midfielder was told the manager wasn’t happy with the team’s performance, Bellingham responded, “I don’t care. It’s tough over there. It’s a tough shift.”
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“Character, perseverance, when things weren’t going our way, we found a way to win the game. We gave everything we had. I’m so proud of this team.”
England will now rest and begin preparations for Wednesday night’s semi-final in Atlanta, where they will face either Switzerland or reigning champions Argentina for a chance to reach the final.
If Tuchel and his team defeat either Argentina or Switzerland, the final will be played in New Jersey on July 19 against either France or Spain.
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