DALLAS, U.S. — England opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia on Wednesday, and captain Harry Kane says the turnaround all traces back to a rousing half-time address from head coach Thomas Tuchel that unlocked the side’s attacking potential. The high-stakes group stage clash got off to a chaotic start, with skipper Kane netting two first-half strikes — including one from a retaken penalty — to put England in an early lead, only for the 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia to claw their way back to level the score at 2-2 by the break.
Emerging from the locker room with renewed momentum, England exploded into action at the start of the second half. Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham broke down the wing before firing a precise shot into the bottom corner of the net to restore his side’s lead. As one of the pre-tournament favorites to lift the World Cup trophy, England continued to carve out a string of clear-cut chances through Kane, Bellingham and Nico O’Reilly in the minutes that followed, before substitute Marcus Rashford put the result beyond doubt to seal all three group points.
While the result highlighted England’s devastating attacking quality at its best, the match also exposed defensive frailties in Gareth Southgate’s (note: corrected, per original source: Thomas Tuchel’s) side, particularly during a shaky opening 45 minutes. When asked what shifted after half-time, Kane was quick to praise his manager’s locker room speech. ‘To be honest, he gave a great speech, especially after how we conceded that second goal right before the break,’ Kane told reporters. ‘He just told us to take the shackles off, calm down, and asked us what we were scared of. He told us to just go out and play our game.’
Kane added: ‘The way we conceded that second goal wasn’t the football we want to play as a team — we dropped deep, sat back waiting, and conceded anyway. He basically said, ‘What’s the worst that can happen? We lose the first group game, we pick ourselves up, we move on. Let’s go out there and show the world what we can be.’ And I think that’s exactly what we did in the second half.’
Tuchel, the German manager hired to end England’s 60-year wait for a major men’s senior trophy, admitted his side looked jittery and uncharacteristically passive through the first half. Describing the opening 45 minutes as ‘complicated,’ Tuchel said: ‘I could feel the nerves. The decisions we made were too safe — we kept playing too many passes backwards. We struggled to find our rhythm, didn’t have the confidence to play through the gaps, build momentum with short passes, or pull off the switches of play that we work on.’
The manager was far more pleased with his side’s performance after the break, as England controlled proceedings to secure a comfortable win in the end. ‘I love the reaction the players gave in the second half; the second 45 minutes was excellent,’ Tuchel said. ‘We deserved to win, but this was an emotional game, a lot of emotions were flying around, and it took us a while to get going. The fact that we did turn it around, though? That’s a really positive sign moving forward.’