Five things you may have missed from 'Reflections'

England men’s head coach Thomas Tuchel sat down for his first interview since the Three Lions won bronze at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in a new England Original film, 'Reflections: England's World Cup Journey'.

From that win against Mexico to naming his squad and dressing room pep talks, here are five things you may have missed from the documentary, available to watch now on the official England app.

The power of silence

Having arrived in Mexico two days ahead of their Round of 16 clash, Tuchel and his players took to the training pitch in preparation but despite all the noise around the fixture, it was the sound of silence that the Three Lions took inspiration from.

“They drive us to this training ground in the middle of Mexico City and we arrived and it’s an oasis,” explained Tuchel. “It’s so peaceful, it’s an unbelievable pitch and it is so calm. It did something to the players.

“We came up with this line of ‘silence is powerful’, that we enjoy the silence, that we are in the home country, we will play against the home nation, the whole nation will be against us, it’s almost impossible to win in this stadium – no one has ever done it before in a World Cup match.

“We even had five minutes on the matchday of meditation and manifestation of the last whistle – just think about the last whistle.”

Soundtrack of the summer

Oasis’ Wonderwall was England’s anthem of the tournament as the Three Lions joined in with fans for a chorus after each game, as became the ritual but for Tuchel, it wasn’t the first time he’d heard the song.

“I was in Italy in a hotel and there was a quiz going on and one of the quiz questions was, ‘can you name the song?’ but it was played backwards,” recalled Tuchel.

“One of the songs turns out to be Wonderwall and the people played the song and started singing the song, more or less.

“I almost cried at some point because it just brings out emotions and reconnects you straight away with this feeling of joy and relief. This song will never be the same again.”

Turning the key

With broken hearts, the Three Lions went head-to-head with France in the battle for third place before heading home but as it transpired, the fixture was the ‘medicine’ England needed, according to Tuchel, although one player in particular made the difference.

“Jordan Henderson basically I’m very, very convinced, turned the key and put it into perspective and unlocked what we saw in this match,” said Tuchel.

“He said, first of all, he was in this game before in Russia and he regrets the team did not show up with the right attitude.

“The second was, you just never know when your career ends in an England shirt. He had his broken arm which didn’t allow him to play. He said, ‘ask me how desperate I am to play today?’”

Different energy

When selecting his squad for the World Cup, the England boss had decisions to make but it was he saw during that big win in Belgrade as the Three Lions took a step closer to qualification that made up his mind.

“The attitude in the September camp, there was a different energy,” said Tuchel. “It was positive.

“The key is the mixture between competitiveness and joy. Not only joy for yourself but also joy for the success of others.

“Then, we had this breakthrough match in Serbia. From that moment, I knew that’s the energy that we need.”

Bellingham’s brilliance

Jude Bellingham made history, scoring seven goals across the World Cup – the most by any England men’s player at a major tournament – and his impact was invaluable as Tuchel outlined.

“He was one of the players of the tournament, not only for us but of the whole tournament,” explained Tuchel. “He lived up to his full potential.

“You could just see what a competitor, what a machine he is and he just thrives under pressure. He just loves these moments; he loves these stages. It brings out the very, very best in him. He just took his place and decided every single match for us.”

Watch 'Reflections' now, exclusively on the official England app.