The first thing Thomas Tuchel did after walking into the England dressing room at half-time was to sit down. His team had just conceded with the last kick of the first half, a second sloppy, preventable goal, and he knew the players would be on edge. He knew that what they needed first was a quiet moment to catch their breath.
Then Tuchel explained to the team that his perception of them and their work would not change if England lost their opening game to Croatia. And if they lost here in Dallas, so what, they would still have two games left to put it right. The only thing that mattered was to play in their way, the way they had been working on ever since Tuchel took over.
Brave, courageous, aggressive and proactive. To show the world who they are and what they can be.
@JackPittBrooke on one of the more decisive half-time interventions in English World Cup history.
🔗 https://t.co/MPSKdXLo2A