Thomas Tuchel and ‘fuming’ attack dog are why England can win the World Cup

Anthony Barry’s half-time revelations and a gesture from Thomas Tuchel a few minutes later is why England can win the World Cup.

While Roy Keane was busy explaining why “you can never write off Croatia” in the ITV studio to excuse a mediocre England display and fellow pundits Gary Neville and Ian Wright tried to convince the world that the Three Lions had been quite good in attack while undeniably iffy at the back in the first half, Tuchel and Barry were evidently tearing into their players in the dressing room.

Barry described the first half as “complicated and confusing”, criticising the players for “going long when we should go short and short when long” and over their “fearful patterns of play”, before labouring over the key problem with this display and – now we think about it – every average England display we can remember: “No threaded passes to accelerate the game”. As Neville said, “he was fuming”.

England were essentially Arsenal without the world-class centre-backs; playing slow, slow, slow rather than slow, slow, quick, and unable to keep a perfectly decent Croatia side at bay with a nervy Ezri Konsa and an ageing John Stones as their last line of defence.

We’re not here to disparage the vibes-based approach of Gareth Southgate. The former England boss also brought about upticks in energy and performance through half-time team talks. But they were heartfelt, motivational messages aimed to provoke a reaction from his players; not erudite tactical instruction as was clearly delivered by Tuchel and Barry at the break here.

Jude Bellingham’s goal after a charging run down the right flank following a first-time pass from Elliot Anderson would have brought about an outpouring of relief from Southgate – the double-fist uppercuts and a roar into the night – but after a very brief celebration punch, Tuchel was seen pointing at one of his players and beckoning them over for further tactical instruction. He’s a manager and a coach.

England were superb for the 15 minutes after half-time. Bellingham should have scored again seconds after he gave England the 3-2 lead and worked to firmly put doubts over his place in the starting lineup to bed as he led what was a terrifying Three Lions press that Croatia had no answer to.

Nico O’Reilly should have scored with a free header at the back post from a Declan Rice corner. Rice himself then drove in from the left to force a save from Dominik Livakovic, who produced a triple save soon after and then denied Harry Kane’s fierce drive on the angle.

They couldn’t possibly keep up such extreme intensity for the rest of the half, but the desire to pounce on dodgy Croatian touches and – crucially – to play those passes to “accelerate” the game remained. And even while their opponents threatened to draw level, England looked the more likely to extend their lead; the finishers sealed the deal.

Some stunning work in a tight space from Bukayo Saka preceded a swept pass from the Arsenal man to Marcus Rashford on the opposite flank, and Anthony Gordon’s replacement cut inside on his right foot and curled the ball into the corner to seal what was as close to a perfect half of football as many England fans will have seen from the Three Lions at a World Cup.

It’s arguably made even more encouraging by how lethargic they were in the first 45 minutes, as this game served as proof of Tuchel’s in-game impact.

Kane had given England an early lead in the game from the penalty spot at the second time of asking after missing a stuttered first and scored a bullet header from a Rice corner to draw level with Gary Lineker on ten World Cup goals.

Martin Baturina smashed one into the top corner for Croatia to peg England back once following some pretty suspect defending from Stones and poor positioning from almost everyone else, and then a lovely move featuring a glorious headed assist from Ivan Perisic and a slotted finish from Petar Musa drew them level for a second time.

It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either and Tuchel sensed fear in his team.

“He told us if we’re going to lose, we’re going to lose our way,” Kane revealed was his message at the break, before Tuchel reminded his players what his England team are all about: Pressing, “accelerating” the game and attacking with numbers.

They did that brilliantly in the second half as Tuchel and his attack-dog Barry left the players in no doubt as to the need for improvement and – critically – just how they could improve.

We wanted a big-game manager and we’ve got one.