Unshackled England answer Tuchel's call, set sights on World Cup charge

KANSAS CITY, Missouri, June 18 : By the time the Daily Star had crowned them the "Dallas Wow Boys", England had already lived up to their World Cup billing, and it was a few pointed words at halftime from Thomas Tuchel that helped turn promise into something far more emphatic.

"Even if we lose, we do it our way," the England manager told his players with the game 2-2 against Croatia, a contest that had threatened to drift into the uncertainty that has so often held England back at major tournaments.

What followed in the second half of England's thrilling 4-2 victory at AT&T Stadium - normally home to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys - was less a tactical tweak than a shift in mindset.

It resulted in one of the most decisive results of the World Cup so far. 

Players described a speech that urged them to unshackle themselves, to accept risk, to lean into the intensity Tuchel had promised since taking the job. 

"He told us to take the shackles off, calm down and go," captain Harry Kane said. "What's the worst that can happen?"

The effect was immediate. England, so often associated with structure over spontaneity in recent tournaments, emerged for the second half with a new clarity and aggression. 

The tempo lifted, pressing sharpened, and the attacking play became fluid rather than staccato. 

By the end, four goals and a statement victory had followed, a performance as notable for its intent as its execution.

It also underlined a philosophical shift. Under Tuchel, England appear willing to embrace uncertainty rather than guard against it. Where previous iterations of the side prized control above all, this team looked liberated, ready to impose themselves rather than contain.

HEY JUDE

Jude Bellingham, who was a topic of pre-game conversation