Thomas Tuchel has revealed the exact words he used to inspire England to a stunning second-half performance in their World Cup opener against Croatia. The Three Lions secured a 4-2 victory, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Marcus Rashford finding the net.
Tuchel's Half-Time Message
Speaking to ITV, Tuchel disclosed what he told his players at the break: "Even if we lose, it will not change my perception of the last 17 days, but let's do it our way. We were too focused on protecting the result. We were a back seven and we didn't defend. If the result doesn't go our way, we want to play our way. I tried to encourage them to go for it."
England went in level at half-time despite Kane twice giving them the lead. The second half saw a transformed performance, with Bellingham scoring in the 47th minute and Rashford adding another to seal a statement win.
Player Reactions
Harry Kane credited Tuchel's words for the turnaround, saying the manager's wisdom had a big impact. Bellingham added: "It wasn't one of those where it was a big drama or standing up and shouting; it was what the team needed. We have a mature group with great leaders in there; everyone knew the level we had to get to."
Tuchel also highlighted the statistical improvement: "I saw a statistic of 33% of ground duels won in the first half and 73% in the second, so even off the ball was not good enough, not committed enough. I loved the reaction of the players in the second half."
