Thomas Tuchel reveals details of half-time team talk that inspired England’s World Cup victory over Croatia

Thomas Tuchel knew what to say, but he also knew what to do; absolutely nothing.

England’s players took their time as they returned to the Dallas dressing room a few minutes earlier, having managed to take the lead for the second time in 45 minutes.

First he told his young people to sit down and take a breath. While much of the injured fan base speaks of ‘typical England’ as they prepare their intermittent cups, the German was looking to offer a different kind of comfort.

‘I sat with them,’ he explained. ‘I gave them quiet time for themselves. I told them to calm down. We just conceded a goal. Stay calm, calm their nerves and (then) encourage them to do it our way.’

They won’t be there – and it may only be a snapshot of a World Cup opener – but Football Association bosses may feel what happened next provided some vindication of their decision to go for the serial winner at a cost of around £5 million a year.

“I told them and my perception of the last 17 days will not change with this result,” Tuchel said when asked by Daily Mail Sport how he had inspired such rapid change.

Harry Kane praises England boss for ‘great speech’ at half-time on Wednesday

‘I said that whatever the outcome, I want them to do it their way, our way. ‘I want them to be brave, to be courageous, to be intense, to be at the forefront and to do it together, and to just go for it, and try to get it, and be active.’

While many were concerned about the Three Lions’ defensive shortcomings, which saw them frantically blow away the two lead given to them by Harry Kane (and a VAR review after his first penalty was saved), Tuchel pounced.

‘I encouraged them,’ he said. ‘It was short, it was calm. If they say it helps, even better. But the real message was to encourage them and tell them that we trust them and that there is nothing to fear. It was ‘we’re going to go win’ and ‘we’re going to be active’.’

It may seem presumptuous to criticize his predecessor given what he has done for a flawed national team, but Gareth Southgate has often been criticized for his in-game management, or perceived lack thereof. They came to nothing in nervous fashion, edging out Croatia in the World Cup semi-final and Italy in the European Championship final. A late draw against Spain at the last Euros was followed by an almost immediate withdrawal.

Tuchel was tasked to manage these moments. To get this group over the line. Apparently he wants them to race there. What followed was one of England’s best 45 minutes against good opposition in a major tournament, with unanswered goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford. Those minutes weren’t nearly enough reward.

‘I loved the whole second half,’ he said. ‘I loved the reaction to a very complicated first half.’ So are the rest of us.

Tuchel, known as a professor in Germany, has a business degree. If she goes back to college, she might find psychology easy.

“Leading roles – both of them – did not make us freer,” he said, offering more insight into what was going on behind the closed doors of Texas and how his charges got into his head.

‘We are now more under the impression that we have to protect something, that we are being punished for it, which is not easy, psychologically. But I loved the reaction at the end of the half. We encouraged them 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 possession in that regard, we scored goals and overall I think we deserved to win.’

Marcus Rashford scored England’s fourth goal as the Three Lions dominated the second half.

Having been there and done that with great powers across Europe, the 52-year-old knows what it takes to achieve it. He also knows the pressures young players can face. There is a level of expectation created in England by a country desperate for success. After Cole Palmer’s equalizing goal against the Spaniards in Berlin two years ago, the instinct was to protect rather than dominate. There were acquaintances here.

“I definitely felt that they were ready, they were free and they were comfortable in the hotel yesterday and this morning,” Tuchel said when asked to explain the first half.

‘I had very good feelings. But you know, sometimes if you want to do something so perfectly, then sometimes you want it too much and you overthink it and you don’t get involved, you get stuck in the thinking and decision-making phase. Finally, in doubt, we decided to go back on and off the ball. So we played the ball too much backwards, we played the ball too much to our goalkeeper. We didn’t dare to eliminate, we didn’t dare to play through the gaps. It took us a while to find our confidence.

‘That’s why I said maybe it was normal. I was hoping the goals would help us; This was not the case. But that makes it even more special that we got through the game right away and had a much better second half.’

Even though few would have gotten carried away, Tuchel wanted to enjoy the moment. These are times to be savored, not endured, which has been the message of England’s camp so far.

Tuchel described his own experience: ‘It was very emotional. ‘Since yesterday I have felt the spirit of being a part of the World Cup and what it means. It’s truly amazing and I’ve felt very, very alive the last two days. ‘I didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world but here.’

UK will now return to base camp in Kansas City. The famous American highway Route 66 passes through the Midwestern state. Thanks to Tuchel, they have taken the first steps on what many hope will be an epic journey that has been at least 60 years in the making.

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