Thomas Tuchel made a remarkable admission in the documentary Reflections: England's World Cup Journey. The England manager regrets not eating a piece of grass from the pitch after the World Cup match against Mexico.
The documentary revisits England's World Cup run this summer. In the end, the country finished third after beating France 4-6 in the third-place play-off.
Among the standout games was the round of 16 tie against Mexico. England led 1-2 when Jarell Quansah saw a straight red card. It then became 1-3, but Mexico hit back to make it 2-3. A tense closing spell followed, but England held on.
Tuchel recalls that match with a warm feeling. "After the match I sent a message to a friend, in which I wrote: ‘I regret not having eaten some grass afterwards, so that I would always have something of this moment in my body’," he says.
"This match had everything. And if you still needed proof of what this meant to the players and how they treated each other, it was the moment when Jordan fell and broke his arm."
He is referring to the moment when Jordan Henderson fell over the advertising boards after the match and broke his arm. "Within a second, the players were there. They stopped celebrating the victory and formed a protective circle around Jordan. It was so special..."
Following the win over Mexico, England then beat Norway 1-2 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, England lost to Argentina before going on to take bronze.