Thomas Tuchel wishes he'd eaten grass from the Azteca pitch after England's World Cup win over Mexico this summer. That's just one of the statements from the England boss which has drawn attention across social media, following the FA releasing a new documentary called 'Reflections: England's World Cup Journey'. In the documentary, Tuchel sits alongside former England international and Sky Sports pundit Daniel Sturridge to look back on England's campaign, which ultimately saw the team finish third, having lost in the semi-finals to Argentina.
England's standout performance of the tournament came in the last-16 win over Mexico in Mexico City, where they played for over 35 minutes with 10 men but prevailed 3-2. "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'," said Tuchel. On the unity his players showed in that match, Tuchel pointed to their reaction to Jordan Henderson falling and breaking his arm in the post-match celebrations.
"If you needed any proof, any proof for 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," said Tuchel. "Within a second, the players were there, every single player was there, stopping the celebrations, building a shield, protecting Jordan and not going nowhere in full empathy. It was just so special." The film will be released on Wednesday September 16 exclusively on the England app.
The build-up to the Mexico game had been dominated by talk of the altitude of the Azteca stadium but also the potential for weather delays, which proved founded with kick-off pushed back. But Tuchel says a calm came over the group when they trained together in Mexico before the match and meditation and manifestation helped them to achieve the victory. "In the middle of Mexico City and we arrived and it's an oasis, it's so peaceful, it's an unbelievable pitch and it is so calm, it is so peaceful that it did something to the players," said Tuchel.
"They came out from the gym straight out on the pitch, they were having phone calls, walking around, it was such a peaceful energy. "So we came up with this line of 'silence is powerful', that we enjoy the silence, we're in a home country, we will play against the whole nation, the whole nation will be against us, the stadium, it's almost impossible to win in the stadium, no one has ever done it before in a World Cup match. "So let's enjoy the silence, the power of the silence.
We even had five minutes on the match day of meditation and manifestation of the last whistle." The FA are currently undergoing a review of England's World Cup campaign but Tuchel says the experience has bonded him and the group together and he is "excited" about what comes next. England face world champions Spain in the Nations League in the upcoming international break with the 2028 Euros the next major tournament. Tuchel reckons preparing for that tournament will be easier than the planning which was required for the 2026 World Cup.
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