Tuchel hails England’s bronze response after Argentina setback

England turned a semifinal bruise into a bronze medal, and Thomas Tuchel made sure the response got top billing.

After England beat France in the third-place match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Tuchel praised his team for recovering from the disappointment of losing to Argentina in the semifinals, according to Telemundo’s coverage on July 18, 2026.

Telemundo reported that the result gave England its first World Cup medal in 60 years. The network’s related coverage described the England-France playoff as a 10-goal show, with England coming out on top to take third place.

Bronze after the blow

Tuchel’s postmatch message, as reported by Telemundo, centered on the way England handled the emotional turn from a missed final to a medal match. He highlighted the team’s mentality and its ability to get past adversity after the semifinal defeat.

Telemundo also reported that Tuchel accepted responsibility for England’s loss to Argentina, the result that kept the team out of the World Cup final.

The bronze still marked a major milestone for England. Telemundo’s coverage said the team returned to a World Cup podium after six decades, ending a long wait for another medal at the tournament.

Saka gets the spotlight

Bukayo Saka was singled out in Telemundo’s coverage after the France match. The network identified him as the player of the match and reported that Saka believed England won the bronze because of how the team performed in the first half.

Tuchel also praised Saka’s display, according to Telemundo. The coverage did not list Saka’s full stat line, but it placed him at the center of England’s postmatch celebration.

Jude Bellingham also featured in Telemundo’s match coverage, which said he sealed England’s victory over France. The network described the win as emphatic, without giving a final score on the video page.

France exits with Deschamps farewell

The match also served as Didier Deschamps’ final game with France, according to Telemundo. In related coverage, Deschamps described his time with the national team as “a very beautiful adventure.”

Tuchel offered words of recognition for Deschamps after the match, Telemundo reported.

The day’s World Cup coverage also noted a major individual milestone for Kylian Mbappé. Telemundo reported that Mbappé became the leading scorer in World Cup history, even as France’s tournament ended with defeat to England in the bronze-medal game.

For England, the closing note was clearer: a semifinal loss to Argentina did not become the final image of its tournament. Telemundo’s coverage framed the third-place win as a show of recovery, with Tuchel pointing to the response as the achievement that mattered after the setback.

This story draws on original reporting from TELEMUNDO.com.