World Cup 2026: England 4-2 Croatia – Thomas Tuchel told England players to ‘go for it’ in half-time team talk

In a separate interview with BBC Sport, the Bayern Munich forward added: “The boss said at half-time to move man-to-man to pick up the tempo and give it all to them and that’s exactly what happened.

“You saw us at our best both with and without the ball and we could have scored 3-4 goals in 20 minutes in the second half.

“We did what we had to do and finished the match well.”

Asked what he told his team at half-time, Tuchel told ITV: “Even if we lose it doesn’t change my perception of the last 17 days but let’s do it our way.

“We were very focused on preserving the result. We were seven down and didn’t defend. If the result doesn’t go our way, we want to play our way.

“I tried to encourage them to do that.”

The half-time team talks had an immediate impact; Bellingham scored within two minutes of the restart to give England a 3-2 lead.

The Real Madrid midfielder told ITV: “It wasn’t a big drama or a stand up and shout situation, it was what the team needed.

“We have a mature group of great leaders there. Everyone knew the level we needed to reach. The start of the second half gave us a great platform.”