England head coach Thomas Tuchel accused his players of “making life very, very difficult” for themselves during their World Cup 2026 quarter-final win over Norway, adding that he is “not happy with the performance” in their extra-time victory.
Andreas Schjelderup’s first-half cross-shot ensured the Three Lions fell behind for the second time in the knockout stage before Jude Bellingham struck in the first halves of regular time and extra time to send Tuchel’s team to a semi-final against Argentina or Switzerland on Wednesday (20:00 BST).
“[We were] sloppy, [made] a lot of technical mistakes [and were] not fast enough, not repetitive enough,” Tuchel told ITV.
“We were lucky. The commitment was there but we made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played [and] how we played.”
World Cup 2026: Why Tuchel scolded England
England’s defensive frailties were again evident and they would have fallen 2-1 behind but for Torbjorn Heggem’s strike shortly after half-time being ruled out for Erling Haaland’s foul on Elliot Anderson.
“The result is fantastic,” acknowledged Tuchel. “We’re in the last four. It’s amazing but I’m not happy with the performance.”
The World Cup rookie defended his players’ grit and spirit. “How can you ask about mentality now?” asked Tuchel.
“This is pure mentality. You can bottle it up and sell it. It’s the quality of our game [I criticise] – that’s it. It has nothing to do with mentality.
England vs Norway: Three Lions ‘will get better’ at World Cup
Alongside seven-goal Haaland, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe – both on eight goals before the holders faced Switzerland on Sunday – are the only players to have outscored Bellingham at the finals.
“Enough said,” offered Tuchel. “He does it every every single match. World-class.”
Having beaten DR Congo, Mexico and Norway by a goal during the knockout stage, England are likely to face a significantly greater challenge in the semi-finals.
“We will get better,” said Tuchel. “We need to get better. Now it’s celebration, now it’s taking it all in. We have three days. We need everything. We need a better performance.”
World Cup 2026: Where to watch England semi-final
In the UK, England’s semi-final will be shown live on BBC One on Wednesday.
Streaming on a vast variety of devices is available via BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport.
England World Cup fixtures: Confirmed schedule, kick off times
Here’s how England’s fixtures, results and potential schedule look. Asterisk denotes match starting previous day in specified territory.
| Date | Match | Result | Stage | Time (BST) | ET | PT | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17 | Croatia | 4-2 | Group | 21:00 | 16:00 | 13:00 | ITV |
| June 23 | Ghana | 0-0 | Group | 21:00 | 16:00 | 13:00 | BBC |
| June 27 | Panama | 2-0 | Group | 22:00 | 17:00 | 14:00 | ITV |
| July 1 | DR Congo | 2-1 | Round of 32 | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 | BBC |
| July 6 | Mexico | 3-2 | Round of 16 | 01:00 | 20:00* | 15:00* | BBC |
| July 11 | Norway | 2-1 (AET) | Quarter-finals | 22:00 | 17:00 | 14:00 | ITV |
| July 15 | TBC | Semi-finals | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | BBC | |
| July 18 | TBC | Third-placed match | 22:00 | 17:00 | 12:00 | TBC | |
| July 19 | TBC | Final | 20:00 | 15:00 | 10:00 | BBC, ITV |
