Thomas Tuchel points out England strength as World Cup dream lives on

The Three Lions survived a thrilling contest at the iconic Azteca Stadium to set up a last-eight meeting with Norway.

Despite the blow of losing experienced midfielder Jordan Henderson to a wrist injury that has ended his tournament, Tuchel praised his players for showing maturity and resilience to see out the result. 

"My emotions are very mixed. I'm just proud of the mentality and the attitude. Round of 32, round of 16 is the moment in tournament where you find a way to win.

We did it with pure mentality, with heart. Overcame every obstacle that was thrown at us. I'm so proud of the mentality and the will of this team," said Tuchel

"It's a very, very special night for us. Mixed feelings also because I'm exhausted of course and emotional but also sad because Jordan got injured. He injured his wrist."

"He's at the hospital at the moment so it's a quite serious injury and it just doesn't fit to the evening that Jordan is now not with us. I don't know the procedure, what's going on. I just did the press and the doctor told me that he's in hospital."

Tuchel said another motivating factor was their supporters. 

The ex-Chelsea boss was also asked where the result ranked in his managerial career, with many pundits and media outlets hailing it as one of the finest displays by an England side on the World Cup stage.

"In the build-up it never felt like a round of 16, it still now doesn't feel like a round of 16, it feels almost like we won a final or something. This last moment where the referee takes the whistle to his mouth and you know that you overcame it 40-50 minutes with 10 men in the altitude against the home country, against a strong strong Mexican team, you just like yeah this is a moment of joy and it is a heroic performance and a heroic result in the end." 

"I'm so happy for the players, it ranks on the very very highest level of course also for me to be part of this, to live this experience the last two days, to be in this country, to see the people on the side of the streets all the way to the stadium, such a special moment and to overcome it against all adversity makes it very special and it will have a very special place for all of us."

One of the biggest takeaways for Tuchel going forward in the competition is the camaraderie of the England players.