Thomas Tuchel didn’t scream and shout at his players at half-time, although he must have resisted a mighty urge after watching them twice squander the lead against Croatia in their World Cup opener in Dallas. England went out of their way to help their opponents back into the game, parting like the Red Sea for Croatia’s first and standing like statues as the second unfolded around them.
“We took the decision to go backwards on and off the ball, so we played way too many balls backwards,” Tuchel later explained. “We played way too many balls back to our goalkeeper. We didn’t dare to eliminate, we didn’t dare to play through the gaps.”
