Thomas Tuchel's remarkable admission about wishing he had eaten grass from the Azteca pitch after England's 3-2 win over Mexico says a great deal about how deeply that match stayed with him and his players. As part of the FA's new documentary, Reflections: England's World Cup Journey, the England boss has turned one summer night in Mexico City into a symbol of what this squad were building.
The film, which is part of the FA's review of England's World Cup campaign, will be released exclusively on the England app on Wednesday September 16. It also revisits a tournament in which England's victory over Mexico was described as the standout performance, before the run ended with a semi-final loss to Argentina.
Tuchel's comments have already drawn attention across social media because they capture something unusually personal. This is not just a coach reviewing a result; it is a manager describing the emotional imprint of a win that clearly felt bigger than the scoreline.
Tuchel: 'I regret that I didn't eat some grass'
Tuchel said: "I regret that I didn't eat some grass after the match to keep something from this in my body forever."
It is a striking line, but it fits the wider picture he paints in the documentary. England did not simply beat Mexico in Mexico City; they walked into a difficult environment and produced what the film frames as a defining performance of the campaign.
Tuchel also described the setting in unusually vivid terms, saying it felt calm and peaceful in the middle of Mexico City, and that the atmosphere seemed to affect the players. He said they came straight from the gym onto the pitch, with players on phone calls and walking around before the match, before England settled into the idea that silence could be powerful.
That is the sort of detail that often gets lost after the final whistle. But in this case, Tuchel's reflections suggest the mood around the match mattered almost as much as the football itself.
The moment that showed England's unity
The other part of Tuchel's reflection that stands out is his account of Jordan Henderson breaking his arm after falling over in the post-match celebrations. Tuchel said that was the clearest proof of what the win meant to the squad.
He said that within a second every player was there, stopping the celebrations, building a shield around Henderson and protecting him with full empathy. That picture of immediate support gives the documentary its emotional centre.
For England, this matters because tournament football is often judged by structure, control and game management. But the best teams also show togetherness when the pressure lifts. Tuchel's account suggests that England found that bond in Mexico.
The FA has timed the release to keep that conversation alive as England look ahead to the Nations League and Euro 2028 challenges. A summer win in Mexico may not decide those campaigns, but it has become part of the story of how this group sees itself.
In that sense, the documentary is about more than a grass anecdote. It is about the emotional value of a result, the feeling of playing in difficult conditions, and the way a squad can turn one victory into a shared reference point for what comes next.
