England manager Thomas Tuchel expressed mixed emotions after the Three Lions reached the World Cup semifinal, praising the team’s bravery while admitting they performed below their usual standard.

Norway took an early lead before Jude Bellingham continued his impressive tournament form, scoring twice to lead England to a 2-1 victory in extra time.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” Tuchel told FOX after the match. “The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four, it’s amazing, but we’re not happy with the performance.”

When asked to clarify his concerns, Tuchel pointed to specific technical issues.

“In every sense. Again, the commitment is there but we made life very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played. Sloppy, lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.”

Tuchel dismissed suggestions that the pressure of a World Cup quarterfinal impacted his players.

“It’s not a mentality problem — this is pure mentality,” Tuchel said. “How can you ask about mentality now? This is pure mentality, you can bottle it up and sell it. It’s the quality of our games. That’s it. It has nothing to do with mentality.”

England secured the win despite a difficult first half, mirroring their previous struggles against Mexico and their tense encounter with DR Congo in the Round of 32. Tuchel remains confident that the team has more to offer.

“We will get better. We need to get better. Now it’s [time for] celebration.”