Thomas Tuchel led England to a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their World Cup Group L opener at Dallas Stadium on June 16[s2, s5]. It was Tuchel’s first time coaching England at the World Cup, which he called "the best stage" and "the biggest tournament in the world" [1, 2]. Tuchel, 52, replaced injured fullback Tino Livramento with Trevoh Chalobah shortly before the match [1, 2].
England’s Harry Kane scored twice while Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford each added a goal [3, 4]. The half ended level at 2-2, as England twice took the lead but were pegged back by Croatia [3, 4]. Tuchel gave a motivational team talk at halftime urging his players to "go for it" and play aggressively rather than protect the lead [3, 4]. Kane said the manager told them "to up the tempo, go man for man and completely take the game to them," which defined England’s strong second half [3].
Early in the second half, Bellingham scored to spark sustained pressure and multiple chances for England [3, 4]. Tuchel noted England had dropped "way too early into a deep block" in the first half, which he wanted to avoid in the second half as they pressed higher [4]. He said, "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." [3]
Tuchel also cautioned about Croatia’s experienced midfield of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, and Ivan Perisic ahead of the match [1, 5, 2]. England aim to play brave, aggressive football with Premier League-level intensity [5, 4]. Tuchel said fans watching would enjoy the attacking style, commenting, "People in the pubs will like this." [4]
England will face Ghana in their next World Cup group match on Tuesday, June 23 [4].
