Thomas Tuchel reveals bizarre England regret in first interview since World Cup

Thomas Tuchel has revealed he wished he had eaten some of the grass after England’s memorable World Cup win over Mexico.

England produced one of their greatest overseas performances when they beat the host nation 3-2 with 10 men in Mexico City in a last-16 tie last summer.

Although the campaign was ultimately to end in semi-final disappointment, that victory was a moment to savour and, for manager Tuchel, the experience created a bond between himself and the players.

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England’s victory in Mexico City is regarded as one of their greatest overseas successes (Nick Potts/PA)

The German said: “I texted a friend after the match and I just wrote, I regret that I didn’t eat some grass after the match to keep something from this in my body forever. That was the feeling. That was the moment.”

Tuchel felt the spirit and togetherness of the squad were clearly evident after that game when Jordan Henderson landed awkwardly vaulting over an advertising hoarding during the celebrations and broke his arm.

“This game had so much of what you could wish for,” Tuchel told former England striker Daniel Sturridge in an interview for the Football Association.

“If you needed any proof of what it meant to these players and how they were with each other, it was the moment when Jordan fell over and broke his arm.

“Within a second, the players were there. Every single player was there stopping the celebrations, building a shield, protecting Jordan – not going nowhere, in full empathy. It was just so special.”

Tuchel felt the concern shown by England’s players after injury to Jordan Henderson underlined the spirit in the camp (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Tuchel now hopes to carry that feeling forward into qualifying for Euro 2028 and the tournament itself, which will be co-hosted by England.

“It created a huge bond to these players,” he said. “It feels like they are my players now. This is the beauty of it.

“You have success and you have painful moments together, but you have so much time together and then you create a natural bond. So I’m happy to see them. I’m happy to challenge them, happy to push them, and very proud to be a part of that.”

England return to action later this month when they host world champions Spain in the Uefa Nations League.

They also travel to Croatia and play the Czech Republic home and away during the upcoming international break and Tuchel is due to name his squad on Friday.

Tuchel is excited about the challenge ahead (Martin Rickett/PA)

He said: “I’m very excited. I think we got another step closer and I think we’re there.

“It’s very difficult to prepare for a World Cup in the US, but I think it’s possible to prepare for a Euros and we prepare in Nations League Tier One.

“The target is to have another 10 matches. We had 10 matches in the US – eight wins, one draw, one painful loss. That is something to build on.

“We all have the right to hold our heads high and go with courage and positivity into the next challenges. We have four matches in Nations League coming up, and that’s where the focus is.”