Thomas Tuchel has revealed the Football Association issued its full support to him in a meeting before the round of 16 match with Mexico at the World Cup, and he has also backed the FA's stance on FIFA president Gianni Infantino with the organisation having withdrawn their support for his re-election.
Tuchel unveiled his 27-player England squad on Friday at Wembley -- the first since England won the bronze medal at last summer's World Cup. Though some of the focus was on the players included and omitted ahead of four Nations League matches, Tuchel also fielded questions on how he's reflected on England's fortunes at the World Cup.
Tuchel has since said he will have to live with the "scars" of their semifinal defeat to Argentina, with the England manager facing plenty of criticism for how his team managed the final quarter of the match where Argentina turned it around to win 2-1.
The England manager said he had several sleepless nights since the World Cup -- though none were spent on whether he got the original squad selection right or not -- but he did reveal on Friday the FA issued their full backing before their match with Mexico.
Tuchel went through a post-World Cup review with the FA, and when asked how the discussions went, he answered: "Got told off, of course, for the substitutions that I made. Just joking. We had several reviews, which is good to do -- it's a bit unusual to do because you don't have the time in club football to do so many reviews, but it's part of moving forward and learning.
"It's sometimes painful, sometimes emotional, sometimes beautiful because people speak up and they speak about situations, about moments that you had not so high on your priority list that meant a lot to them.
"I felt the full support from all my bosses through the World Cup, through the whole tournament. There was a moment, a very special moment before the Mexico game where we had a talk and my bosses told me, 'We know that anything can happen in a football match and we know that anything can happen in a match in Mexico in a World Cup, but don't worry, we see what's going on and we want to continue like this.'
"This was a beautiful moment for me as a coach. And I felt this kind of freedom to make my choices and coach freely. And there was never a doubt in my mind that we will continue together and there was obviously never a doubt in their mind. We have critical reviews that will stay behind closed doors. I am the biggest critic of myself and reflection is sometimes necessary to get back better and experience is a crucial part of coaching."
Tuchel also said that, when talking to England fans post-World Cup, the vast majority talked to him about memories of the matches rather than questioning his controversial substitutions in the Argentina match.
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"99.9% of the fans don't talk about tactical things," Tuchel said. "They speak about where they have watched the Mexico game, they speak about the second-half energy of the Croatia match. This is the feedback that I get. This is what we created and how it should be. This is what a World Cup is for, to connect with people and give them experiences that they do not forget. It makes me proud."
Tuchel was talking just a day after news broke the FA has written a letter to Infantino asking him to release documents and files relating to his failed plans to sell a stake in the World Cup and over the controversial decision to overturn Folarin Balogun's red card at the tournament. The FA has also withdrawn its support for Infantino's re-election as FIFA president.
"I just told you how I am backed from my bosses, so it's the minimum I can do is back my bosses, I would say," Tuchel said. "So they have my full support on that and I back their opinion."