England will face France in the bronze‑medal match on Saturday (22:00 BST) – a win would be their best men’s World Cup performance since 1966. “It is heartbreaking to be so close,” said Bullingham. “The players and Thomas gave it everything today and the squad, coaches and staff could not have worked harder during the tournament. I would like to thank them all – and also give my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful fans here in the USA and at home.”

Despite the semi‑final loss, England’s progress is still viewed as a relative success. Thomas Tuchel said at his post‑match news conference in Atlanta: “We keep on going with the contract until the home Euros. I’m looking forward to that even though right now it’s difficult to look that far ahead.”

Tuchel added that a semi‑final is an achievement when many big football nations are eliminated earlier, and that it is simply the nature of being competitive. “No one wants to hear that at the moment; me neither because we demand the most of ourselves,” he said.