Tuchel: "We barely allow ourselves to be proud of third place"

On Saturday, England beat France 6-4 (4-0) in the World Cup third-place match in the USA.

England manager Thomas Tuchel stated that the team barely allows themselves to be proud of third place because 18 months ago they set the highest goal of reaching the final and winning. He considers England's campaign successful and hopes the players can be proud in time. Tuchel added that the game is a step toward closing the gap with teams like Argentina and France.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice, bringing his tournament total to ten goals, and became the all-time top scorer in World Cup finals with 22 goals, surpassing Lionel Messi's 21. "Messi scores goals all the time," Mbappé told Fox Sports. "But I would rather not be the all-time top scorer and play in tomorrow's match instead."

France coach Didier Deschamps, who will leave after the tournament, said the team was deeply disappointed after the semi-final. "We did not expect such a first half," he said. The final between Argentina and Spain takes place on Sunday.

This is the first World Cup with 48 teams, hosted in Mexico, the USA, and Canada. The 48 teams were divided into 12 groups, with the top two from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advancing to the knockout stage.