Tuchel: 'We got the job done'

England head coach Thomas Tuchel was pleased with his side’s reaction to conceding an equaliser, as the Three Lions came back to win 2-1 against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley.

Morgan Rogers opened the scoring for England with a finish from close-range, before the visitors equalised just prior to the hour mark via Petar Sucic’s hooked effort to beat Jordan Pickford.

However, England responded well and were rewarded a penalty minutes later. Captain Harry Kane, celebrating his 126th appearance for England, netted his 92nd goal for his country to secure the 2-1 victory at Wembley.

“A good win,” said the Three Lions head coach after the game. 

“We wanted this win desperately and I think we deserved it. It was hard work against a good opponent, it took us a while to grow into the game but after 15 minutes, we did OK. We got the goal, got better and more confident, had some good actions and good half-chances. 

“We got a little bit sloppy at the end of the first half but started the second half very well, didn’t score the second goal, conceded from a set piece and then showed a good reaction,” he continued. 

“We created quite a lot, enough to score a third one. Then it can always become tight and difficult as they had dangerous set plays. But we got the job done, which was important as it was a special occasion for Harry and he got the winner, so it’s a perfect evening.”

While disappointed by the nature of England conceding an equalising goal just shy of the hour mark, Tuchel was pleased with the way in which his players reacted.

“We were clearly the better team in that moment, we had a very strong start after half time, a beautiful chance created by Declan Rice and they blocked it on the line,” he reflected. 

“It felt like a goal was coming but we had some easy ball losses in our own half which killed a bit of momentum. Some technical mistakes, concentration, whatever it is. It was still a dangerous set play and we helped a bit, an awkward situation in our box can always happen. It’s important to react and we did it.”