Tuchel’s team talk turns nervous England into World Cup winners

Captain Harry Kane praised Thomas Tuchel for a halftime team talk that helped England secure a 4‑2 victory over Croatia, launching their World Cup campaign on Wednesday.

Kane opened the scoring twice in the first half of a chaotic match in Texas, including a retaken penalty, but the 2018 runners‑up fought back to level the score at 2‑2 before the break.

England began the second half strongly, with Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham sprinting down the wing and slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

From that moment, England produced numerous chances through Kane, Bellingham and Nico O’Reilly, and substitute Marcus Rashford sealed the win with a third goal.

The result showcased England’s attacking prowess, though their defense remained vulnerable, particularly in the first half.

When asked how they pulled away after the break, Kane said of Tuchel: “He gave a great speech, especially after we conceded that second goal just before halftime. He told us to let the shackles off, calm down, and ask ourselves what we’re scared of. Let’s just go.”

“The way we conceded that second goal was not the team we want to be – dropping deep, waiting, and still conceding. He basically said, ‘What’s the worst that can happen? We lose a match, first group game, we get on with it, we move on, let’s just go and show the world who we can be.’ And I think we’ve done exactly that in the second half.”

The German coach, who is leading England toward their first major trophy since 1966, said his side had been nervous and passive in the first half.

Tuchel described the first 45 minutes as “complicated”. “I felt a bit nervous,” he told ITV. “The decisions we took were basically to play safe and move the ball too many times backward. We struggled to find rhythm, lacked confidence to exploit gaps, and couldn’t establish a rhythm with short passes and switching the play.”

He was much more satisfied after the break, as England emerged as comfortable winners.

“I love the reaction of the players in the second half; it was excellent,” he said. “We deserved to win, but it was emotional, a lot of emotions involved, and it took us a while to get going, but we did get going, and that’s positive.”

AFP

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