Thomas Tuchel 'Begs' FIFA to Make Change After England 4-2 Croatia

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Thomas Tuchel has called on FIFA to implement an immediate change following England’s 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday night.

The Three Lions began their 2026 World Cup campaign in impressive fashion at the Dallas Stadium in Texas.

Harry Kane gave England the lead in the 12th minute from the penalty spot. Martin Baturina equalised with a stunning strike 10 minutes before half-time before Kane netted his second of the match.

Tuchel’s men were dealt a blow moments before the interval when Petar Musa made it 2-2, much to the frustration of England’s coaching staff.

“A complicated and confusing first half from us, really,” England assistant coach Anthony Barry said during a frank half-time interview with ITV. “I think a lot of nervous energy early on. Maybe that should be accepted, and maybe expected in the opening game of a World Cup.

“From there, then we made some decisions where the energy was not free in our mind, playing long when we should play short, playing short when we should play long, really not playing through the gaps so not allowing us to accelerate our game the way we wanted to.

"Then you think the penalty would free us up, allow us to play more like us, look more like ourselves, but again we fall back into some fearful patterns, and yeah... we've always been able to rely on set pieces.

“We get the second goal again. We're hoping that's the moment that would allow us to move forward in the game, but okay, we concede the second goal later on, and now we have to speak about that at half-time.”

Thomas Tuchel was furious with one of his England stars during the win over Croatia.

Whatever Tuchel and his coaching staff said during the break clearly had the desired effect. England were the superior side in the second half and won the game thanks to excellent goals from Jude Bellingham and substitute Marcus Rashford.

"I thought it was a game of two halves. In the first half, we were OK," Harry Kane told ITV after the match. “[We were] really disappointed to concede in the way we did. I thought we dropped off.

"Credit to the manager, he gave us a speech at half-time and said if we lose, we lose in our way, and I think we saw that in the way we came out in the second half.

"We went full gas and they couldn't live with it. Credit to everyone for the first game of the tournament."

While Tuchel was pleased with his side’s second-half display, he was far less happy with a pre-match incident involving the photographers.

The German tactician said his experience was “ruined a little bit” by a wall of photographers who obstructed his view of the national anthems and has called on world football’s governing body to sort the situation out for next time.

"I have to tell you something. I'm begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem, because I could not see my team,” Tuchel was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

“It was a very special moment today, and I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers and I could not see one single player. It ruined a little bit my experience today."

The England boss added: "It is very emotional. Listen, when I was young, and even when I started coaching, this was too big to dream of, to have this kind of a career.

"I felt the spirit, and what it means to be part of a World Cup. It's just amazing, and I felt very, very alive the last two days. I didn't want to be anywhere else in the world than here."