England manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that a gap remains between the Three Lions and serial tournament winners like Argentina, France, and Spain.
Speaking ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 third-place playoff, Tuchel noted that traditional powerhouses like Argentina and France have established the expectation to win major trophies, whereas England is still in the phase of dreaming and pushing.
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Following the team’s elimination by Argentina, where England sat back and invited pressure after going 1-0 up, Tuchel took responsibility for the defensive shift but emphasized the need to improve the players’ ability to stay active and escape pressure when leading major games.
“I think the gap is there because of the titles that Argentina, France, and Spain have as national teams and as countries and what they built over many years with the coaches and the team,” Tuchel said.
“There is still a slight gap that we have to close. The gap shows in almost the expectations of these countries to win the World Cup and be in the finals. I think we demanded it from ourselves within the camp, for sure.
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“We dreamed about it, we pushed for it, and we competed for it but there is still a gap to close in the way we play football under pressure and the way we implement ourselves on the very next level.
“But we play France today. We are number four in the world at the moment, and we make it to the semifinal. We want to close this gap. Very little margin, but it is still there to overcome. It is a great position to be in. I like to be the competitor, the one who is chasing and challenging. It starts today.”
