Fiery pep talks are possible even without shouting, screaming and yelling at the ones who need them. Thomas Tuchel is a master of that.
England had twice lost the lead in their World Cup campaign opener against Croatia at the Dallas Stadium on Thursday (IST). But after the change of ends, they were a different and dominant side, braving the Croats’ grit and pumping in two more goals to eventually seal the game 4-2.
A huge credit for that has to go to manager Tuchel, whose rousing speech in the dressing room turned out to be the catalyst for England’s turnaround. “He told us to take the shackles off, calm down and ‘let’s go.’
“He said, ‘What’s the worst that can happen? Show the world who we can be,”
captain Harry Kane, who netted a brace, said of Tuchel’s pep talk.
“I told them to calm down, calm their nerves and encouraged them to do it our way,” Tuchel said, recalling his half-time speech to Kane and the rest of the players.
“I told them that my perception of them in the last 17 days will not change no matter what the result is. I want them to do it their way. Our way. I want them to be brave, courageous and tenacious on the front foot. And just go for it.”
The Jude Bellingham strike just two minutes into the second half was quite an indication that the Three Lions would not back down, but rather keep pressing to be on the ascendancy again. Therein lies the credit of the former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain manager, who seems to have brought in a kind of transformation in the English mindset.
The previous England teams, on most occasions, used to panic and go into a shell once they lost the edge and found themselves in situations that appeared a little tense or tight. The dull, defensive football that used to be synonymous with England sides of the past did change to a certain extent under the supervision of Gareth Southgate. But the unit guided by Tuchel certainly promises greater aggression.
In their Cup opener, England not just regained the lead for the third time, but also added another to shut the door on their opponents. That would have been possible only with positive, aggressive football, and Tuchel ensured to play his cards right.
He brought in Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Morgan Rogers to focus more on attack, while that also freed up Bellingham. There were still no signs of going a tad defensive, as Tuchel brought on Djed Spence in place of Bellingham.
What followed was a joint effort of the quartet — Rashford, Saka, Rogers and Spence — which resulted in England doubling their lead and confirming their victory.
“I loved how positive Thomas Tuchel was being because if you sit back and wait for Croatia to come on, then it gets nervy. It’s brave and shows he’s trying to win the game,” former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney said on BBC.
The decision to be ultra-aggressive could well have backfired as the Croats were quite capable of expoliting England’s shaky defence and draw level again. Past England coaches would have laid more emphasis on tightening the defence, but for people
like Tuchel, attack is the best defence.
The best managers, according to Rooney, are “gamblers.” England would only hope Tuchel’s gambles keep paying off in the rest of their Cup journey.