Tuchel: 'I loved the reaction'

England boss Thomas Tuchel was encouraged by his team’s second-half display, after getting off to a winning start with a 4-2 victory over Croatia at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Three Lions twice took the lead in the first half thanks Harry Kane’s brace, only for Croatia to come back twice and find equalisers with the match all square at the break.

But England emerged for the second half with renewed vigour, and when Jude Bellingham slotted them ahead for a third time just seconds after the restart it led to something of an onslaught from the Three Lions.

They eventually found a killer fourth goal later in the game when substitute Marcus Rashford calmly finished in the area after being set up by fellow replacement Bukayo Saka.

"It was a good second half, a good reaction,” said Tuchel.

“The first half was a bit complicated for us, a bit nervy and I felt the decisions we took were safe, we played too many balls backwards, we struggled to find a rhythm and didn't have the confidence to go through the gaps.

“I saw a statistic of 33 per cent ground duels won in the first half and 77 per cent in the second, so even off the ball, I felt us not brave enough, not committed enough together.

"I loved the reaction of the players in the second half, it was excellent. We deserved to win, and it was emotional. It took us a while to get going but we did get going and that is the positive.”

Kane revealed after the game that Tuchel’s ‘speech’ at the break was behind the team’s improved performance, so what was it that he told the players in the dressing room?

"I just reinforced and said even if we lose, it will not change my perception of the last 17 days, but let's do it our way.

“We are too focused on the result, too focused on protecting what we don't have at the moment.

"If something happens, and the result doesn't go our way, we want to play the match the way we want to. I tried to encourage them to go for it.”

Tuchel and his squad will now return to their World Cup base in Kansas City, where focus will shift to their second group game against Ghana on Tuesday 23 June (9pm).

And he admits there will be some rest and recovery for the players on their return, with six days until their next outing in Boston.

"The effort was enormous because we were not very clean when we won balls, the first and second touches after a ball win, we were not clean enough,” he explained.

“We lost a lot of those moments, and you work a lot, a ball loss after a ball win is the most tiring thing you can have.

“So we are exhausted but I love exhausted players in the dressing room and I think we needed this.

“Today there are only positives and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we fix all the other stuff."