Bukayo Saka declared himself "fit" and expressed regret that he didn't play more minutes at the World Cup after his hat trick against France.
England won a thrilling third-place playoff 6-4 on Saturday night -- Saka struck three goals while Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Jude Bellingham were also on the scoresheet.
Saka's involvement at this World Cup has been limited. He started only two of seven matches before the third-place playoff and didn't come off the bench at all when England lost their semifinal to Argentina.
"Of course, I would love to have played more," Saka told the BBC after stealing the show against France.
"But it's too late to talk about that. I try to do my talking on the pitch and it's done now, move on."
Saka made it clear: "I'm fit, I'm fit."
Thomas Tuchel said after England beat France: "Bukayo is a key player for me. He was ready to go at the World Cup. I felt the responsibility, as a coach, and with his history of where he came from, to take it slow. But he started some matches. It was a tough decision for me to leave him out of the semifinal. I had a feeling after the Norway match that Morgan Rogers had something special to give to us with his physicality in the match against Argentina.
"We had [Saka] warm up several times against Argentina. We were ready to change. But the game became so crazy that we opted for a different option.
"Nothing has changed in this World Cup for me. Bukayo is a fantastic teammate, a fantastic player, key player, fast. That will not change."
Saka said about criticism of Tuchel: "I think that's just part of the game.
"It's how you react to it, how you use it as fuel and today we finished strong and that's all we could really do and we did that."
England's third-place finish at the World Cup was their best effort since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966.
"As a collective this is what we discussed, we deserve to finish strong for the tournament that we've had," Saka said.
"We deserve to finish in the highest position that England have had for 60 years.
"This group deserves nothing less, that was the mentality. You saw that in the first half.
"We played a perfect first-half and ultimately that won us the game. On a personal level, I have worked so hard to get myself ready for this tournament and be available to produce moments like that.
"It's an incredible achievement. There are only three other Englishmen who have done it. I am proud of myself to achieve that."
Saka added: "I don't think anything can lessen the pain from the other night. That one really hurt us.
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"[The France game] was about finishing strong. We have got that mentality, that's never been a problem for us. We have got togetherness. We can be proud of ourselves."
Djed Spence said: "For it to be the best since 1966 is an honour.
"[Tuchel] is a great manager and we've built something special. It's not what we wanted, but it's a stepping stone. Hopefully, at the next tournament, we can bring something home."
