Atlanta, July 16 (IANS) Thomas Tuchel made it clear that he will stay on as England head coach until Euro 2028 despite the Three Lions FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign ending in the semi-final with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of holders Argentina.

Anthony Gordon fired the Three Lions into the lead in the second half in Atlanta, before late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez sealed a 2-1 win for the reigning world champions.

Tuchel, who began his role as England head coach on an 18-month contract in January 2025, signed a new contract earlier this year to lead England senior men through to UEFA EURO 2028 in the UK and Ireland.

“We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros. I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead,” Tuchel told reporters.

England will now take on France in Saturday’s third-place play-off, while Argentina go on to face Spain in Sunday’s final in New Jersey.

“None of our players or none of the French players want to play in this match. They want to play in the final; we gave everything to be in the final. Everyone plays to win the World Cup, but it is what it is. We have a day less than France to recover but we will do it professionally. The thing for us is to bounce back and react. That’s what you have to do at the highest level of sport and that we will do,” he said.

Tuchel admitted that reaching the semfinal stage is itself an achievement. “We have to wait for four years (to go again at another World Cup). In itself it’s an achievement, of course it’s a semi-final. A lot of big footballing nations are eliminated before the semi-final. It is an achievement, no one wants to hear that at the moment, me neither, because we demand the most of ourselves because we are so competitive. The nature of being so competitive puts the next game into perspective.”

–IANS

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