Harry Kane believes Thomas Tuchel is the right manager to lead England to glory, but suggested the German has made errors.
England capped off their 2026 World Cup campaign with their best finish since they won the tournament in 1966.
Three Lions captain Kane did not feature as England romped to a 6-4 win over France in Saturday’s third-place play-off.
Yet Tuchel has come in for plenty of criticism for how England retreated when defending a lead against Argentina, in their 2-1 loss in the semi-finals.
Between Anthony Gordon’s opener for England and Lautaro Martinez’s stoppage-time winner for Argentina, the Three Lions had only 12% possession.
Tuchel made defensive changes, taking off Gordon and bringing on Ezri Konsa, while Nico O’Reilly replaced Declan Rice and Dan Burn came on in place of Reece James, and even though he is supportive of his manager, Kane seemed to hint that England’s boss made mistakes.
“He’s a big reason why we’re here, a big reason why we got our best finish in 60 years,” Kane told reporters.
“Of course, there are a lot of what-ifs from the other night [against Argentina]. He’s one of the best coaches in the world, but even the best make mistakes.
“That goes for us players as well. The fans have every right to be angry. Thomas knew when he took the job that there would be high pressure and high stakes.
64 – The third-place play-off between France and England was the first World Cup match to see both teams score 4+ goals in 64 years, since a 4-4 between the Soviet Union and Colombia in 1962.
It was also the highest-scoring game at the tournament since Hungary beat El… pic.twitter.com/z1J8WwKC8b
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 19, 2026
“The enthusiasm he has, the emotion he brings, the tactical experience he has… It doesn’t mean you’re going to get it right every time.
“He not only gave the players belief, but he gave the country belief that it was our year. That is why it hurts even more than other years, because everyone believed we were going all the way.
“Everyone has to process it. He has to process it himself. It won’t be until the next camp, when you think about what the future holds and what the next target is.
“We have to learn, improve. The coach will have improved from these learnings. I can talk as much as I want, but ultimately it’s about showing it next time we’re in that situation.
“We’re still in that grieving stage, the emotional stage, and we’ll be in that for the next few weeks.
“Every time you get closer, knock on the door. You think you’ve learned, and you have, but we just have to keep going.”
