Tuchel says he told England ‘to be ourselves’ during win over Croatia

Thomas Tuchel was delighted by England‘s courageous second-half display after his half-time pep talk inspired a thrilling 4-2 win against Croatia in Wednesday’s World Cup opener.

The back-to-back European Championship finalists made an eye-catching start to the tournament in Texas, where Harry Kane twice saw goals cancelled out in a stop-start opening period.

England assistant Anthony Barry expressed annoyance at a “complicated and confusing” performance at half-time, when boss Tuchel helped rally the troops and inspire a vastly-improved second-half display.

Kane and Declan Rice praised the manager for a speech that Jude Bellingham said was just “what the team needed”, with the midfielder taking less than two minutes to restore their lead.

England wrapped up a 4-2 victory through substitute Marcus Rashford‘s late goal and Tuchel said: “I loved the second half. All of it. I loved the reaction to a very complicated first half.

“We played against a top opponent. I think we showed a bit of nerves. Maybe we waned to do overdo it, but we clearly overthought our decisions.

“We encouraged them to go for it, to play with more courage, to be brave, to be ourselves and, like I said, I loved the reaction.

“We created a lot of chances, we had a lot of ball wins, we scored goals and overall I think we deserve to win.

“There are still things to improve. I think this is also quite normal after a first match. You need to grow into a tournament.

“We got a tough draw to start against Croatia, so the positives are clearly the ones where we focus on now and enjoy the moment. We have enough days to adjust what needs to be improved.”

Asked about a speech that Rice called “amazing”, Tuchel said: “I was sitting down with the players. I gave them quiet time for themselves, told them to calm down having just conceded a goal.

“To calm down, calm their nerves, and encourage them to do it our way.

“I told them that my perception of them and of the last 17 days, will not change with this result, no matter what the result is. But I want them to do it their way, our way.

“I want them to be brave, courageous, intense, and on the front foot, and do it together and just go for it, and try to take it, and be active.

“I encourage them with words, which was short, was calm and, yeah, if they say it helped, even better”.

England now fly back to their Kansas City base to begin preparations for next Tuesday’s Boston encounter with Ghana, ahead of which Rice’s availability will be a talking point.

The Arsenal midfielder provided the corner for Kane’s second goal and Tuchel revealed the player was withdrawn as a precaution in the 72nd minute.

“Declan had some unusual ball losses and I saw a bit of discomfort,” Tuchel said. “Then I asked him and he pointed directly to his lower back, upper hamstring, that he feels the discomfort.

“I didn’t want to take any risks. If I take Declan off, which I never want to do, but it was the moment to protect him and I think Reece James did so well to replace in central midfield. He had a fantastic game. That’s that.

“I hope it is nothing more. Declan’s just reassured me at the end ‘it’s good, it’s good’ and I know the discomfort. We will take care of it and it nothing big to worry about.”