So what is it to be, Mark Bullingham?
England lumped on an elite manager to secure the second star – at great cost – and they leave America with nothing more than a devastating sense of deja vu. The brutal truth is that if the mission was to win the 2026 World Cup, Thomas Tuchel has failed.
FA chief executive Bullingham fudged it before the tournament by extending Tuchel’s contract and then suggesting that success could be measured in other ways.
He put forward England’s quarter-final exit in Qatar in 2022 – after a series of decent performances and running France close in the last eight – as proof that sometimes an early knockout comes with compelling mitigation.
But where are the caveats from Wednesday night? Tuchel did it his way, picking a squad that confounded many in May, and was found wanting against Argentina. The elite, tournament manager hired to do elite things in the big moments came up short.
