Captain Harry Kane credited Thomas Tuchel with a powerful half-time message after England beat Croatia 4-2 to begin their World Cup campaign on Wednesday.
Kane scored twice in a lively first half, including a retaken penalty, but Croatia battled back and made it 2-2 before the break.
England came out strongly in the second half. Jude Bellingham put the side back in front with a fine finish after a strong run. The midfielder raced forward before placing the ball into the bottom corner.
England, one of the favourites to lift the trophy, created several chances after that through Kane, Bellingham and Nico O’Reilly. Substitute Marcus Rashford later added another goal to secure the victory.
The win highlighted England’s attacking strength, although the side looked vulnerable in defence during the first half.
Asked what changed after the interval, Kane praised Tuchel’s words in the dressing room.
“He gave a great speech to be honest, especially the way we conceded that second goal just before the half-time.
“He just told us to let the shackles off, calm down, what are we scared of? Let’s just go.
“The way we conceded that second goal, it’s not the team we want to be, dropping deep, waiting and conceding anyway.
“He kind of just said, what’s the worst that can happen? We lose a match, first group game, we get on with it, we move on, let’s just go and show the world who we can be.
“And I think we’ve done exactly that second half.”
Tuchel, who is aiming to guide England to its first major title since 1966, admitted his team struggled in the opening half.
The German described the first 45 minutes as “complicated”.
“I felt a bit nervy,” he told ITV. “The decisions we took were basically, we chose to go safe and play too many balls backwards.
“We struggled to find the rhythm, didn’t have the confidence to go through the gaps and find the rhythm in some short passes and then the switch of play.”
Tuchel was far more pleased with the response after the break as England took control of the match.
“I love the reaction of the players into the second half, the second half was excellent,” he said.
“We deserved to win, but it was emotional, a lot of emotions involved and it took us a while to get going, but we did get going, and that’s positive.”
