Tuchel: Regrets not eating on the pitch after the 3-2 win against Mexico; still heartbroken despite only losing one game to the USA-Canadian-Mexico team.

Tuchel revealed that after England's victory at the Azteke Stadium, he regretted not eating a bite of the pitch.

Their 3-2 victory over Mexico in the Round of 16 this summer was one of the highlights of their tournament. Tuchel discussed this experience in detail in a newly released retrospective documentary by the FA.

In his book, *Reflections: England's World Cup Journey*, to be released Wednesday, Tuchel tells Daniel Strickland that he still thinks about keeping a bit of turf with him after returning to England's home ground in Kansas City. Tennis legend Novak Djokovic keeps the grass on Centre Court after every Wimbledon men's singles title.

“After the match I texted a friend,” Tuchel said. “I just wrote one sentence: I regret not eating any grass after the match, so that I could have kept a part of the match in my body forever. That’s how I felt. That was the moment.”

Tuchel considered the match against Mexico one of the highlights of the tournament, especially after Henderson fell during his celebration, fracturing his wrist and ending his participation in the tournament, with the players immediately gathering around him.

“This game had almost everything you could want to see,” Tuchel said. “If you want to see how much this team cares about each other, that moment is the best proof. The instant Henderson fell and broke his arm, the players rushed over in a second. Everyone was there, immediately stopped celebrating, formed a barrier to protect Henderson, no one left, it was all out of genuine empathy. That moment was so special.”

Tuchel said that England's performance in this tournament—their late semi-final defeat to Argentina—will form the foundation for continued building ahead of Euro 2028. This was the German manager's first public statement since leading the team back from the United States on July 18th and defeating France in the third-place match. He stated that his current focus is on the European Championship two years from now, hoping to lead the team through a long and successful tournament.

“I’m looking forward to working with these players and to seeing new young players come into the training camp so they can learn,” Tuchel said. “I think we’ve taken another step forward. I think we’ve reached that point. Preparing for the World Cup in the US is very difficult, but I think preparing for the European Championship is feasible. We will also continue our preparations in the UEFA Nations League Tier 1.”

"The goal is to play another 10 games. We played 10 games in the United States (including two warm-up matches before the World Cup): 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Although that loss was painful, it is a foundation we can continue to build on. We all have reason to look ahead and face the next stage of challenges with courage and a positive attitude. We still have 4 UEFA Nations League matches in the next three-week international break, and that is the focus now."

England will next host newly crowned world champions Spain at Wembley Stadium in a UEFA Nations League group stage match on Saturday, September 26.