Thomas Tuchel regrets not eating any of the grass at the Azteca Stadium after England’s World Cup win against Mexico.
His Three Lions beat the co-hosts 3-2 in the last-16 tie in July, despite playing much of the second half with 10 men following Jarell Quansah’s red card.
England went on to reach the semi-finals, where they lost to Argentina, before beating France in the Bronze medal match for third place.
Tuchel, though, made a bizarre admission during an interview with Daniel Sturridge for the FA’s forthcoming feature ‘Reflections: England’s World Cup Journey’.
He 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.
England’s victory was only the third time Mexico had tasted defeat at the stadium in 90 competitive matches.
Tuchel described it as one of the highlights of the campaign and hailed the “huge bond” within the camp, especially the reaction to Jordan Henderson’s tournament-ending injury after falling over an advertising hoarding while celebrating the Azteca success.
“This game had so much of what you could wish for,” added the German. “If you needed any proof of what it meant to these players and how they were with each other, it was the moment 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 anywhere, in full empathy. It was so special.”
England are next in action against World Cup winners Spain on 26 September in their 2026-27 Uefa Nations League opener, with the 2028 European Championships also on Tuchel’s radar.
Confident of ending England’s wait for a first senior men’s trophy since 1966, he believed their World Cup run not only cemented his relationship with the squad – “it feels like they are my players now” – but also represented “something to build on”.
Tuchel added: “I’m very excited. I think we got another step closer and I think we’re there.”
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